Army of Me
by StarsInxTheNight
Summary: AJ has overcome all the odds that were thrown her way, and was reunited with the Divas Championship. When a new Diva stirs up trouble in the Divas Division, AJ, Paige, and Nikki will realize that in order to take her down, they must team up. *Sequel to Cease Fire.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello again! Long time no talk! I hope all of my wonderful readers haven't abandoned me just yet! I also hope you'll enjoy this story, it's a bit different than the first. It's definitely full of more drama and chaos, just a little warning! Just be patient with me, and I promise as you read it, it will make more sense!**

**Oh, and in case you're lost or confused, this IS the sequel to _Cease Fire_. You might want to go read that story first, or it could get a bit confusing. Enjoy the first chapter and leave a review! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own WWE.**

* * *

><p><em>Champion.<em>

The word floated around in AJ's mind as she walked proudly through the halls of the WWE stadium, the Divas belt wrapped around her petite waist. Minutes beforehand, she beat Paige in all it's glory and became the Divas Champion. She voiced her mind to the world.

Champion's don't give up, they don't back down. They don't let fear stand in their way, they don't let _people_ stand in their way.

Champion's believe in themselves when no one else does.

And for the longest time, no one believed in AJ. No one believed she had the power to conquer WWE, let alone the world. But she proved them wrong, just like she proved _everyone_ wrong.

She became something. She became many things. She became one of the greatest Divas to ever step foot in that ring, she became a 3x Champion, she became the longest reigning Champion.

It wasn't easy for her to get this high up in the company, to become this successful. She has overcome many obstacles to be where she is. She have worked her ass off, day and night, to be the champion. She's beaten every Diva countless of times, so it's safe to say she's proven she's one of the best, if not_ the_ best.

She's outsmarted both Nikki _and_ Paige, not to mention Brie too. What else is there left for AJ to prove to them what all she is capable of?

It makes her wonder, all of this happened when Nikki won at Night of Champions. What would've happened if Nikki lost, and AJ won? Or even Paige? How different would things be right now? Would she be the champion right now?

Would she have false opinions then about Paige, and would she underestimate Nikki?

Everything AJ has done once again proves how she is the ultimate, top Diva in this business.

AJ was the _real_ heroine of this story. Nikki was just the evil villain who tried to stand in AJ's way and interfere with her success.

But sometimes, in these stories, there's more than one evil person. We spend all our time looking for the villains, when in reality, they're us. After all, we stop looking for monsters under our bed when we realize they are inside us.

In this story, you either die a hero or watch yourself _become_ the villain.

* * *

><p><strong>Is this foreshadowing? Hm... I guess you'll have to read and find out! Review please!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to everyone who has read, and especially to those who have reviewed, favorite, or followed! You guys keep me going! Keep it up!**

* * *

><p>"You wanted to see me?" AJ asked, peaking her head inside the brightly lit office.<p>

"AJ.. Yes, come in," Stephanie said, motioning to a young woman sitting in one of her seats. "This is Ellie. She's a new Diva, I was wondering if you could show her the ropes around here? I know how intimidating it can be at a first glance."

AJ frowned. She couldn't exactly say no when Ellie was sitting right there. She didn't want to give her a bad first impression. "Um.. Sure, c'mon Ellie."

She spun around on her heels, holding the door open for Ellie. Stephanie grabbed AJ's arm, making her stop.

"I know you don't play well with others, but the least you could do is be nice and be her friend. And don't let Nikki get her hands on her, alright?"

AJ's eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of Nikki. It's only been a week since WrestleMania, since AJ became the champion, and Nikki has been doing a damn good job of avoiding AJ. Paige too. "Yeah, sure. Let's just hope this one doesn't stab me in the back. Then it'll get _real_ fun."

Stephanie narrowed her eyes but closed the door regardless. AJ let out a sigh and turned around with a fake smile, which Ellie was quick to return. Her eyes studied the young Diva. She had long, strawberry blonde hair and beautiful features. She had a big height advantage over AJ, causing the Diva to frown. She didn't want to get intimidated by the new Diva- no, she wanted to intimidate _her_.

"Let's go," AJ said, still smiling. She began walking as Ellie jogged up beside her. "So, how old are you, anyway?"

"24," Ellie replied. "I'm not too young, am I?"

"No," AJ quickly said. "I mean, age doesn't really matter here. What does is talent. As long as you've got that, and charisma, you should be fine."

Ellie smiled. "Thanks for showing me around."

AJ shrugged, "No problem." _It's not like Stephanie forced me to or anything._

They neared the locker room as AJ peered to the right of her. She saw Paige standing off in the distance, talking to.. Emma.

AJ scowled and quickened her pace, ignoring the confused looks she was getting from Ellie.

"Is something wrong?" asked Ellie.

"Everything is fine," AJ responded. They reached the locker room as AJ stopped in front of it. "Here's the Divas locker room.. Yeah, we all share and it sucks, but.. Not much you can do about it."

AJ opened the door for Ellie, who shuffled in. AJ followed behind her as her eyes flickered to the various Divas in the room. She didn't catch Nikki, which was a good thing.

Everyone stopped talking as the door closed behind them, their heads swiveling to see Ellie and AJ just standing there. AJ decided to take charge and show the rest of the Divas who was in charge.

"Hey, all of you Divas!" AJ shouted, clapping her hands together. "This is Ellie, she's a new Diva here. Try to hold back your mean comments for once, okay?"

AJ walked past all the Divas and opened her bag, pulling out her ring gear. She casted a quick glance to the front of the room, where all the Divas were practically gawking at Ellie.

Yeah, she knew this would be a hard first few weeks for Ellie.

After changing, AJ made a quick trip to visit Dean, over at catering. There was a bounce in her walk as she smiled when her eyes landed on Dean.

"Hey, tough guy," AJ greeted with a toothy grin.

"Hey," Dean said, his eyes trailing up to meet AJ's. "What're you so happy about?"

"No reason," AJ replied with a shrug. She wasn't sure if it was the belt or Dean.. Because lately her feelings for him have gotten stronger. Soon she won't be able to hide them anymore. "You don't seem too happy, though. Is it about that triple threat match that went on at WrestleMania?"

Dean frowned. He had lost the match, along with Roman Reigns, to Seth Rollins. "I guess.. But Seth deserves a chance in the spotlight."

"Look at you, being happy for your best friends," AJ teased with another grin.

"I never said I was happy."

AJ pouted. "Yeah, I forgot men tend to ignore their feelings."

Dean rolled his eyes and finished his water bottle. He wiped his mouth with the side of his sleeve and asked, "So, how does it feel to be the champion again?"

"It feels amazing," AJ said. "Like, now I have proof that I am the best in this place."

"Don't get too cocky there," Dean playfully warned.

"I'm allowed to be cocky," remarked AJ. "As long as I can back it up.. Which I can."

"Whatever," Dean said, tossing his empty bottle in the garbage. "Still sounds too cocky to me."

"Oh, what do you know," AJ said as they began walking down the halls. "Did you see that new Diva?"

"Yeah, Ellie, right?"

AJ nodded, tilting her head to the side. "She's pretty, isn't she? Like, she's_ really_ pretty."

"I guess," Dean said. To him, all he saw was AJ.

A satisfied smile crossed AJ's lips. She was hoping he wouldn't agree with her.

"Hey," AJ said, her eyes lighting up with an idea as she smacked Dean's arm. "Let's do something tonight."

"We are," Dean spoke with a raised eyebrow. "We're wrestling.. We have jobs here, remember?"

"I'm not an idiot," she snapped. "I meant, let's go out to eat or something."

Dean's raised eyebrow didn't move. Was AJ asking him out on a date? He didn't want to bring that up and make her feel awkward, in case she meant as friends, but what if she _is_ asking him out? And shouldn't that be his job?

"Uh," Dean croaked, "Sure. Where to?"

"Wherever you want," AJ said. "Or whatever's best around here."

They reached the gorilla as AJ reached up and hugged Dean.

"It's time for the Divas match, I'll stop by your room tonight," AJ said.

"Wait, I thought we were sharing hotel rooms?" Dean asked, grabbing her arm.

"Stephanie wants me to share a room with Ellie, until she kind of gets used to everything," AJ said, suppressing an eye roll.

"Oh," he said, disappointment written on his face. "Well, good luck doing commentary."

She smiled in returned and watched him walk away. She wasn't sure if he got the hint that she wanted to spend quality time with him, be it a date or not.

AJ awaited the signal walk through the curtains and out into the arena. She gazed down at her belt that wrapped around her waist, and quickly adjusted it to perfection. Finally she heard her music as her feet began skipping out.

The crowd cheered as she skipped past the ring, towards the announcer's table. She took a seat next to JBL, grabbed a headset and put it on.

"Ladies and gentleman, the new Divas champion AJ Lee has joined us at ringside," Michael Cole said, smiling over at AJ with a nod. "AJ. How are you today?"

"I'm good, Michael," AJ responded. "Care to know why I'm good?"

"Why?" Michael asked, already having an idea of what the answer is.

"Because I've recently been reunited with my baby," AJ said as she held the belt in her chest.

"That was an interesting way you won last week at WrestleMania," Michael commented. "Let's take another look at that glorious moment, shall we?"

Her head turned the big screen that was showing AJ's win. She watched on as she witnessed herself jump off the ladder and cling herself onto the belt. AJ grinned when she saw her own expression as she won the belt. Yeah, that was a good time.

AJ's eyes drifted down to the stage where the first opponent was making her way. Her eyes followed Brie as Nikki walked behind her. She remembered Brie still had weeks left as Nikki's personal assistant or whatever.

The crowd now turned the attention to the stage once more as a new Diva came out. It was Ellie.

"Looks like we have a new Diva here tonight," Michael said. "Let's just hope she wins her debut match."

"She's definitely beautiful enough to be a Diva!" Jerry exclaimed.

AJ rolled her eyes. "Jerry, beauty has no effect on woman's ability to wrestle. You should know this."

Jerry ignored her as the referee started the match as Ellie shyly stood there while Brie offered her a reassuring smile. AJ's head cocked to the side as she wondered why they were turning Brie face, or good.

"Go on, Ellie, make the first hit," Brie encouraged.

Ellie looked down at her boots and took a step forward. Her eyes returned to Brie as she reached up and slapped the Bella, sending her crashing to the mat.

Ellie smirked and looked down at Brie as she brought her foot down on Brie's stomach, until the ref warned her to stop.

"Ellie seems like she has plenty of experience in wrestling," JBL observed.

"Oh please," AJ spoke, rolling her eyes. "All she's doing is kicking Brie."

Ellie now performed a flip of the corner rope, landing right on Brie. The crowd cheered as Ellie pinned her for the win.

"The winner of this match, Ellie!"

AJ watched with narrowed eyes as Ellie walked up to the stage, smiling like an idiot. Her attention moved to the stage where Nikki was yanking Brie around by her hair.

"I told you to win that match!" Nikki shouted in anger as she pushed Brie down. "Can't you do anything right?"

Nikki slid out of the ring and turned to face Brie, yelling, "Come on!"

Brie frowned and followed Nikki backstage.

* * *

><p>"Here's our room," AJ said over her shoulder as she pushed her key into the lock. She opened the door and set her bag down on her bed.<p>

Ellie closed the door behind her and followed AJ inside. "What do we do now?"

AJ shrugged. "It doesn't matter, you can do what you want. I'm going out to eat, though.. With a friend."

"Really?" Ellie asked. "That's nice. I'll stay here, and.. sleep, I guess."

"You do that," AJ said as she unzipped her bag and rummaged through it for a decent outfit. "Don't forget we have a flight tomorrow morning."

"I know. I'm pretty wiped out from my match, so I might just sleep," Ellie said, sitting down on her bed and pulling her hair into a ponytail. "Was it a good enough match?"

"Yeah, it was okay," AJ replied.

"Thank you," Ellie said with a grin. "Have fun with your friend."

"I will." She found an outfit and walked towards the bathroom, pausing when Ellie started talking.

"Oh, and AJ?"

"Yes, Ellie?"

"Thanks.. For all of this," she said. "You didn't have to do all of this, but you did anyway. I'm glad _someone_ is watching out for me."

"You don't need to thank me," AJ said. "But.. You're welcome."

She walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She stood in front of the mirror and gazed at her reflection.

_The Divas champion_.. Yeah, AJ could get used to this.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, I know there wasn't much Paige, but she'll be in the next chapter! I promise! Oh, and I'd greatly appreciate it if everyone who has followed this story left a review! Thanks!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

"Wow, you look beautiful," Dean said as his eyes dipped over AJ's body.

"Thanks," AJ said, a deep blush forming on her cheeks. She was wearing a black dressed that hugged her body perfectly, a dress she was saving for the perfect occasion. "You look pretty good yourself."

"I try," Dean said with a toothy grin. "Ready?"

"Yeah," AJ answered, quietly closing the door behind her. They walked through the hall, towards the elevator. "What restaurant are we going to?"

"You'll see," Dean replied. "While you were getting all dolled up, I found a nice restaurant. You'll like it, I'm sure."

They arrived at the restaurant in thirty minutes. To be honest AJ wasn't even that hungry. She just wanted alone time with Dean.

They found a secluded table in the corner of the restaurant. After ordering their food, AJ seized the chance to find out whether or not Dean liked her back. Because if he didn't, she would just have to let go of her feelings, which she _really_ hoped she wouldn't have to do.

"So, Dean.. How's that friend of yours?"

"What friend?" Dean asked, his face going blank.

"The friend whose ring you're holding onto?" AJ replied, her eyebrows scrunching in confusion. "Do you even still have the ring?"

"Oh.. Uh, no. He took it back," Dean said, scratching at his head. "Like.. A week ago."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Did he propose?" AJ asked, her fingernails tapping against the table.

"Yeah, he did," Dean lied. "He's engaged now."

"Must be nice," AJ said, staring off into the distance. "To be engaged. Knowing you have someone special in your life that will love you until their heart stops beating."

"It would be nice," Dean agreed, wondering what AJ was doing. "You must know that feeling, huh?"

"What feeling?"

"To be loved," Dean replied as their waiter approached their table. "I mean, I assumed you're not single, since you're so talented and pretty."

AJ's blush made a reappearance as their waiter set their food in front of them. AJ bit her lip, glancing down at her food. Suddenly she didn't want to eat.

"I don't know how I would know that feeling," AJ spoke. "Considering I'm single and all."

"I didn't know that," Dean said as he began cutting his steak.

"I didn't think you would want to know that," AJ said, taking a sip of her wine.

"There's a lot of stuff about me you don't think I want to know, but I do."

AJ paused, lifting her eyes to meet his. "What?"

"Nothing," Dean replied.

"Are _you_ single?"

"Yes," Dean responded quickly. "I mean, you should know that. I told you that night at the bar, remember?"

"Oh," AJ said. "Right. I forgot."

They continued eating their meals in silence until AJ brought the subject up again. She couldn't give up until she knew whether or not Dean had a thing for her.

"So, why is a guy like you single?"

"What do you mean a guy like me?" Dean asked, shoving a piece of steak in his mouth.

"You're a famous wrestler. I'd imagine people would jump at the chance to.. _Be_ with you." She knows she would.

"I guess I haven't found anyone who really caught my attention," Dean said. Minus one person, of course.

"No one?"

"Why are you asking me all these questions, AJ?"

"I don't know," AJ replied with a shrug. "Why are you so open and willing to answer these questions?"

"Because if you're asking these questions, then clearly you want to know the answer."

AJ let out a sigh. Why was he so hard to break?

"You know what, never mind," AJ said as she polished the rest of her dinner. "I'm about done, you?"

Dean frowned, glancing down at his empty plate. "Yeah. I'll pay."

AJ didn't argue, simply because she was just too tired. She thought she was getting somewhere, but.. Maybe Dean just doesn't like her?

They took a taxi back to the hotel after paying for the meal. AJ moped the entire walk to her room, her shoulders slumped in disappointment.

"Thanks for paying," AJ mumbled as her hands dug through her small purse for her room key.

"Yeah." Dean walked past her to get to his room, which was only a few doors down from AJ's.

"Wait, Dean," AJ said, jogging up to him. She stood in front of his door and bit her lip. "I'm sorry, about tonight."

"Yeah, what was up with all those games?" Dean asked, smirking.

"Games?"

"Don't play dumb," Dean said as he leaned closer to AJ. "I know you like me, you don't have to lie anymore."

AJ's eyes closed as Dean moved closer to her. "Who said I like you?"

"You know you do," Dean said.

"You like me back, though."

Dean didn't reply, only brought his lips down to AJ's. She melted at the mere touch.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that," Dean whispered as he pulled away, only inches from AJ.

"Now you don't have to wait any longer," AJ said as she grabbed the back of Dean's head and pulled his mouth down to hers. She let out a soft moan when his tongue slipped into her mouth.

"We can't do this out here," Dean said, managing to pull away from AJ's grasp.

"Why not?"

"People could see us."

"It's like, three in the morning. No one's gonna see us."

Dean paused. "You're right." He pulled AJ back in for a hungry kiss, a kiss that they've both been waiting a _long_ time for.

* * *

><p>"So, what do you think of that Ellie chick?" Paige asked as she adjusted her black boots. "I, for one, think she's a total fake. Especially that blonde hair."<p>

Emma glanced around the locker room. "You shouldn't talk too loud, she could be in here."

"Like I care if she hears me."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I have a match against her tonight. The Bella twins are supposed to come out, which only means trouble."

"Good luck with them," Paige said. "I'll be back, I gotta go do something."

She left the locker room and clenched her fists in anger. She kept her eyes glued to the ground as she continued walking, only to bump into someone.

"Watch where you're going," Paige muttered.

"Sorry, guess I was too busy staring at my belt," Seth Rollins teased.

Paige's eyes traveled up to Seth, who was grinning like an idiot. "What? Why are you grinning at me?"

"Nothing, no reason," Seth replied. "You're just cute when you're angry."

"Don't call me cute again."

"Okay," Seth agreed with a wink. "Princess."

Despite her efforts in trying to be angry, she cracked a smile.

"Ah, there's that smile," Seth said, his grin not once disappearing. "What's got you in a bad mood, anyway?"

"Just don't like that new girl," Paige answered.

"Ellie? Yeah, mutual feeling."

Paige arched an eyebrow. "You don't like her either? Why does that not surprise me?"

"No, I don't like her," Seth spoke. "She keeps flirting with me, and I keep telling her, I don't like her that way. I don't like her at _all_."

"She likes you?" That made Paige feel.. jealous.

"Yes, and I hate it," Seth said. "Curse my good looks."

Paige chuckled. "You can't curse what you don't have."

Seth laughed. "Shut up."

"I'm just teasing."

"Oh?" Seth raised an eyebrow. "So you think I do have good looks?"

"I didn't-" Paige paused, raising her hands. "You got me."

Seth laughed once more. "So, are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah, I guess," Paige spoke.

"Why does Ellie have you down, anyway?" Seth asked. "Worried she'll take your place?"

Paige's eyes shot up, locking with Seth's. "Kind of."

"She's just a rookie, she could never take your place," Seth reassured. "You're too talented for her to do that."

"I'm not talented enough, or I'd be champion."

"There'll be plenty of opportunities for you to take that belt away from AJ. You can't give up now," Seth said. "You've only been here for, what? A year?"

Paige nodded.

"You've done more in a year than most of those Divas have. That's definitely something."

"Except AJ," Paige said with a sigh.

"But she's been here much longer," Seth said. "Is it really Ellie that's got you down? Or is it-"

"AJ, yeah," Paige finished, frowning.

"Don't let her bring you down," Seth said. "She's not worth it."

"You're right," Paige said. "I'll try and snap out of it."

"So you're feeling better?"

"Yeah."

"Good," Seth said. "Then my job here is done."

Paige watched him walk away, her eyes following each step he took until he was out of her eyesight. She's definitely noticed how different she feels around Seth. He always puts a smile on her face, and he always lifts up her mood when she's down.

Huh, maybe that's one fish in the sea Paige should hold on to.

* * *

><p>The Divas match began, starting off with Emma and Ellie trading wrestling moves back and forth. Ellie soon had Emma right where she wanted her, but the Bella's then came out.<p>

Nikki grabbed Brie's head and roughly jerked her to her mouth. She whispered something into Brie's ear.

Brie pulled away and frowned at Nikki, who only pushed her down the ramp. Brie steadied herself and sent a glare Nikki's way, then continued walking towards the ring.

Brie stopped right in front of the ring, watching on as Ellie ignored the twin and pinned Emma for the win. She rolled out of the ring as Ellie turned around and narrowed her eyes.

"Keep moving, Brie!" Nikki shouted from atop the stage. Brie sighed and walked up the steps and into the ring.

There she stood in front of Ellie, who was staring at her with raised eyebrows. Brie sighed and stepped forward, slapping Ellie.

Ellie fell down onto the mat, onto her hands and knees. Her eyes moved up to Brie. She stood up and jumped onto Brie, tackling her to the ground. She threw punch after punch until Nikki rushed over and pulled Ellie off of Brie.

Ellie elbowed Nikki in the jaw, making her stumble back. She jumped off Brie and rolled out of the ring, backing up into the stage.

"You'll regret messing with me," Ellie shouted over the crowd. "I'll make _damn_ sure you regret it!"

She disappeared backstage. Nikki's eyes narrowed as she glanced down at Brie. "God, you can't do anything right, can you?"

"Sorry," Brie muttered as she followed Nikki backstage.

Once there, Nikki sighed loudly, running a hand through her straight hair.

"I do not like that girl," she said as they walked towards the locker room. "I despise her more than AJ. And Paige.. Combined. So that's saying something."

"Does anyone like her?" Brie asked sarcastically.

"I can't see how anyone would," Nikki responded.

"It's hard to hate her, though. She is_ really_ nice, but _really_ fake."

"You can definitely tell her niceness is just a cover up," Nikki said. "I bet when she goes home she takes off all her make up, revealing ugly green skin."

The twins laughed together as they reached the locker room. They walked inside as Ellie peaked out from the corner.

"If they hate me for no reason, well," Ellie started as she laughed, "I'll _give_ them a reason to hate me."


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to everyone who has bothered to take a few seconds of their life to leave a greatly appreciated review! I love you guys!**

* * *

><p>"Have a seat, AJ." She did as told, her eyes nervously flickering to every little detail in the room, hoping it would somehow distract her. The picture frame of Stephanie and her family, the dark, swaying curtains that revealed a bright sky behind them, the little scratch on her desk.. "I wanted to discuss our next PPV, Extreme Rules."<p>

"And?"

Stephanie's eyes narrowed. "Don't get impatient with me, AJ. I can have you shipped back to New Jersey in less than two seconds.""

"Sorry," AJ muttered, casting a glance to her freshly painted black nails.

Stephanie clasped her hands together and rested them on her desk."We wanted one of our old Divas to make a reappearance, for old time's sake, at Extreme Rules."

This caught AJ's attention. Her eyes snapped up. "To face me for the Divas belt?"

"That's correct," Stephanie responded, nodding. "We thought doing so would attract the attention the Divas deserve, the attention we're_ trying_ to give them."

"Oh." That made AJ a more nervous. "Who's it going to be? Lita? Trish?"

Stephanie shook her head. "We have another Diva in mind, but we're not completely sure if she'll be able to wrestle."

AJ raised her eyebrows. "So,_ who_?"

"We can't tell," Stephanie said with a smile. "It's top secret. Confidential."

"Why would that be top secret?"

"Telling you would ruin the surprise," Stephanie clarified. "And where's the fun in that?"

AJ frowned. "I don't like surprises.. I hate them."

"Well, in this kind of business, your opinion doesn't matter," Stephanie said, waving her hand to the door. "Off you go."

"Yeah, glad we had this talk," AJ mumbled as she left the room.

Who could they possibly bring in that could even match AJ's skills? The only person AJ could think of was Lita, but Stephanie said it wasn't her. Maybe it was someone like Maryse? Maybe someone like Beth Phoenix?

She made her way to the locker room where most of the Divas were watching the Main Event of SmackDown. AJ's eyes glued to the screen once she saw Dean and Roman Reigns, attacking Seth. Then the two began attacking each other over the belt.

A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she pushed through the crowd of Divas and reached her bag, reaching in and grabbing her clothes for the night. She was ready to go to sleep and never wake up. She was _that_ tired and worn out.

No, she just wanted to go curl up on Dean's chest and watch scary movies all night. Yeah, that sounded like a good night to AJ.

Nikki and Brie brushed their flawlessly straight hair on front of the mirror and ignored the Divas surrounding them.

"You know, Brie, your hair would look adorable curled," Nikki said as Brie set her brush in her bag.

"What the hell is this?" Brie asked, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper.

"You should consider curling it more often," Nikki said, ignoring Brie's question. "You could use your curled hair to your benefit."

"Nikki, someone left us a.. death note," Brie said, shoving the paper in Nikki's face. "Look."

"What?" Nikki asked, scrunching up her nose as she read the paper.

_You better watch your back, Bella's._

"Okay, this is weird," Nikki said. "Who left us this?"

"Does it look like I know?" Brie snapped. Her face softened upon seeing Nikki's bitch face. "Sorry.."

"I bet I know damn well who it was," Nikki said, clenching her fists together, along with the paper wedged inside them. "Ellie."

"Of course," Brie said, rubbing the side of her cheek. "Why does she hate_ us_?"

"Maybe because we hate her?" Nikki asked, rolling her eyes. "If she thinks she can pull something like this off on us, then she's got another thing coming."

"Don't tell me you're gonna go all psycho on her?"

"What do you mean by that?'

"Like you did with AJ, and Paige," Brie replied. "Remember?"

"I never went psycho."

"You drugged their drinks," Brie stated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, and I'm surprised I never got caught," Nikki spoke with a grin.

"So what are we going to do about Ellie?" Brie asked. "I mean, we don't even know if it was her."

"Oh it was, I'm sure of it," Nikki said. "We'll just wait for her next move, see if she takes this silly game any father. It could just be an empty threat."

Brie nodded. She was hoping her sister was right- she didn't want to be on a pissed off Diva's hit list. Especially if she was near the top.

* * *

><p>"I'm so tired," Paige droned, collapsing onto the bed. "SmackDown always drains my energy."<p>

"You didn't even wrestle," Emma pointed out. "I did."

"You kicked butt."

"Not really," Emma said with a sigh. "But oh well. This isn't about me. This talk is going to be about you."

"Me?" Paige asked, confused. "What about me?"

"You and Seth!" Emma exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "You two are so cute!"

"We're not event together, Emma," Paige said. "All we did was talk."

"Well, you should be together," Emma said. "He seems good enough for you."

"Okay, mom."

Emma rolled her eyes and tossed a pillow at Paige. "Dork. Shut up."

Paige laughed as her arm shot up to block the incoming pillow. Laughter between the two Divas filled the room as Paige's phone began vibrating. She waited until she calmed down enough to read the text.

"Ugh. It's Seth."

"Really?" Emma said, hopping off her bed and onto Paige's. "What'd he say?"

"He said hi."

"Hi? That's it?"

"Did I stutter?"

Emma chuckled. "What are you going to say?"

"Um.. hey?"

Paige typed the three letters and hit send.

"I wonder what he wants," Emma said.

"Probably to tell me hi," Paige said, rolling her eyes. "This isn't rocket science, you know."

"No, but it_ is_ men, and sometimes the two are close enough," Emma said.

"Men are simple. They aren't complicated."

"Whatever you say," Emma said with a smile.

"Oh! He texted me again," Paige spoke, wondering why she was suddenly getting butterflies in her stomach. She quickly opened the text, her eyes scanning the words. "Aw, he called me cute again."

"Again?"

Paige couldn't escape the blush forming on her cheeks. She knew Seth liked her, she knew he was flirting. And for some reason, Paige accepted the gestures and gladly returned them.

"What about Ellie?"

Paige's eyes snapped up to meet Emma's, her thumb hovering over the send button. "What _about_ Ellie?"

"I'm pretty sure she likes Seth," Emma replied. "Actually, I'm positive she does. It's so obvious."

"Yeah, she does."

"That doesn't bother you?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Should it?"

"Not to be mean or anything, but come one. Ellie's got super model looks, and she's really talented. She's improving as a wrestler so much. If this were high school, she would be the cheerleader that would try and get with our football player, Seth. And most likely succeed. We've all seen those movies."

Paige hesitated before saying, "Seth doesn't like her that way. He told me, and I trust him."

"Men lie, Paige."

"Are you trying to make me feel like shit for liking Seth? Because if so, I really appreciate it."

"I wouldn't do that," Emma said, frowning. "I'm just looking out for you. I don't want you to get a broken heart over a man who isn't even worth your time."

"Cut it out, mom."

Emma laughed and pushed Paige off the bed. The room erupted in giggles as the two wrestled back and forth.

* * *

><p>"We have a few days off until Raw," Dean said. "We should do something."<p>

"Like what?" AJ asked, turning on the TV and changing it to a movie.

"Not watch a movie," Dean said, snatching the remote out of AJ's hand and tossing it onto the desk.

"Then give me a better idea," AJ said, leaning back against the wall. "I'm all ears.. Unless you want to talk about work?"

"Why would I want to talk about work?" Dean asked, furrowing his eyebrows together.

"I dunno," AJ said, shrugging. "Sometimes I like to talk about how I'm the Divas champion, and how I'm one of the best Divas."

The moment AJ said it she instantly regretted it. She covered her mouth with her hand.

"Sorry, did I hit a sore spot?" She asked.

"No, it doesn't bother me that Seth won," Dean lied. "Maybe you shouldn't be that cocky, usually that's when things go bad."

"Bad? What do you mean by that?"

"You know," Dean said. "People think they're the best and no one can possibly touch them. Then, before they can even register what happened, they lose the title. Then they wonder how they could let all that power get to their head."

"That's not gonna happen to me, Dean."

"Why? Think you're too good for someone to beat?" Dean asked. "I know you're really good, AJ, but you should tone down the gloating. Just a tad."

"Fine," AJ said with a frown. "Anyhoo, where did you want to go again?"

"I don't know. Somewhere," Dean replied. "You decide."

"Okay," AJ said, her eyes circling the room. "Let's go ice skating."

"No way."

Her eyes rolled. "Okay.. How about shopping? I could use some new shirts."

"Fine, but I'm not paying," Dean joked.

"Never said you had to," AJ said with a grin. "But you should bring your wallet, just in case."

"Oh? Just in case?" Dean asked, returning her grin. "I guess I can do that."

"Okay, then let's go."

Two hours later they had many shopping bags, ranging from shirts to movies. Dean was growing tired from carrying all the heavy bags, and all he wanted to do was enjoy the rest of their night locked up in their hotel room.

"Are we done?" Dean whined, impatiently.

"Yeah, we can head back to the hotel now," AJ said. "I got a few decent shirts."

"A few?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow. "You got more than a few."

"Okay, so I got several."

"That's more like it," Dean said with a smile.

They took a taxi back to their hotel room and Dean wasted no time in throwing his shirt off and crawling into bed.

"C'mere," Dean said, patting the empty seat next to him.

AJ wiggled on one of Dean's oversized black shirts and crawled in next to Dean. He pulled her into his chest and planted a kiss on her head.

"I had a lot of fun today," AJ said. "Thank you."

"For what? Paying? I told you-"

"No," AJ cut off. "For putting up with me and loving me. I'm sure I'm an annoying brat who could get on anyone's nerves."

"Clearly you being annoying and bratty doesn't bother me, considering I'm snuggled up with you right now."

AJ smiled and looked up at Dean. "You're so sweet when you're tired."

"I know," Dean said, reached over and turning the light off. "G'night, cupcake."

"Goodnight," AJ said, suppressing a giggle. She could already hear Dean snoring quietly behind her. It brought a warm smile to her face.

Nights like this was what made AJ so happy and giddy. If only she took advantage of the little time she had with Dean and enjoyed it more. If she had simply listened to his advice, maybe nothing would happen in the near future that could cost their relationship. _Maybe_.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry I haven't been updating daily like I used to. These chapters are much longer so it'll take a bit longer for me to update. Anyway, the first part of the chapter is just some info on what's happening outside the Divas Division in the WWE. Enjoy it! Don't forget to leave a review!**

* * *

><p>"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the last Monday Night Raw before Extreme Rules," Michael Cole announced. "Last month at WrestleMania, Seth Rollins destroyed what used to be his old Shield members."<p>

"Which declared Seth the new WWE World Heavyweight champion," JBL added.

"This Sunday, Seth moves on to face Roman Reigns, for his rematch. Granted, Dean Ambrose still needs a rematch," Michael said.

"But will he be facing Seth or Roman?" Jerry Lawler asked.

"We'll find out this Sunday," JBL said. "Which you can all watch for the low price of $9.99!"

Backstage, AJ watched as the first match of the night started on the flat screen TV. Her head cocked to the side, her lip absentmindedly biting her lip. She tends to do that when she's stressed. Which she _has_ been, as of lately.

"Hey." Dean's voice rang from behind her, a set of strong arms wrapping around her waist. A smile crept on AJ's lips. "How's my muffin doing?"

"Just peachy." As always, AJ began to blush. He left her feeling like she was walking on clouds. She absolutely adored the nicknames he called her. "Shouldn't you be on right now?"

"Nope," he replied. "I'm on later, in the Main Event."

"Oh?" AJ asked, craning her neck to get a good look at him, raising her eyebrows. "Who are you against?"

"Ziggler or someone," Dean said, pulling away from AJ and planting a kiss on her head. "What about you? Any matches tonight?"

"I am the champion, aren't I?" AJ responded, rolling her eyes. "Of course I have a match. I'm practically the Queen, you should know this."

Dean brushed off her cocky attitude and asked, "Who are you wrestling?"

"Natalya," AJ said, brushing back a strand of hair. "She's not a hard competitor, it'll be easy. Now come wait in the gorilla with me and offer me encouraging words. Please?"

"Yes, dear."

* * *

><p>Once it was time for her match, AJ skipped out to the ring, where she waited for her opponent.<p>

The referee started the match and Natalya wasted no time charging after AJ and taking her down. Natalya gained control of the match and tried to put AJ in the Sharp Shooter, but AJ pushed her off with a kick to the face.

AJ clotheslined Natalya and kicked her in the back while she was bent down. She pinned Natalya, but she kicked out at two.

A smile replaced AJ's frown as she skipped around Natalya, her hands holding her wrists behind her back. Once Natalya stood, AJ backed up into the ropes and put her in the Black Widow.

It didn't take long for Natalya to tap out.

Her music soon filled the arena. It soon died down, along with the crowds cheering, once AJ grabbed a microphone.

"Oh, Natalya," AJ said, standing beside Natalya, who was laying on the ground in pain. "I'm sorry you had to learn this the hard way. You know, learn I was the _best_."

She began walking in circles around Natalya.

"I know it must be hard to just accept defeat, and accept the fact that there is a Diva out there who is way better than you," AJ spoke. "I clearly wouldn't know how hard it is, but I imagine you would."

Natalya grimaced as she slowly stood up and got her own microphone.

By this time AJ got out of the ring and was backing up onto the stage, her eyes locked on Natalya.

"What have you done lately, Natalya? What have you done for this Division, for this company?" AJ asked. "Sure, you wrestle on occasion, and rarely win the matches. Sure, you appear on a reality show every week. But what do you _really_ do Natalya?"

Natalya lifted the mic to her lips but AJ spoke before she could even reply.

"Exactly. Nothing," AJ said, answering her own question. "I've made numerous sacrifices for this company, I've risked my career and health just for these fans entertainment. That's who it's all about, right? The fans?"

The crowd cheered.

"But it's not," AJ said, lowering her head. "It's about me. I'm the hero of this company, I'm the one who saved it from failure. You didn't. In fact, I'd say you pushed it towards failure. Don't you agree?"

Natalya hesitated before answering, making sure AJ wouldn't interrupt.

"Are you done?" The blonde asked. "Because, if you are, I've got a few things I need to set straight with you."

"Oh really?" AJ said, raising her eyebrows.

"You are not the hero of this company. You didn't save a damn thing. Because you know what? I've worked my ass off longer than you have, sweetie. I did the saving. I saved our Divas Division from falling apart. You just managed to come into the picture as I did and take the credit. That's all you ever do. Take credit for things you had no part doing."

AJ narrowed her eyes and listened to her words.

"I've got news for you, AJ," Natalya said. "You may carry that belt around on your shoulders, but that doesn't mean a damn thing. It only means you were able to get the better of someone. You play no part in saving this Division, you hear?"

"What a crazy fantasy world you live in there," AJ said. "I never knew how blind you are. That sure does explain a lot."

"This isn't a time for jokes, AJ."

"You're right. It isn't," AJ said. "Yet here I am, talking to you. You think this job is one big joke. You come to work, maybe have a chance of wrestling, then go home and sleep. But it's more than that. I spend my life trying to get where I am, and I saved the Division, the Division I'm the _Queen_ of. And I'm not gonna let some blonde bimbo tell me otherwise."

AJ dropped the mic and smirked. Before she could turn around, though, Ellie ran out and tackled AJ, sending her flying down on the ramp. She yanked the belt out of AJ's grasp and held it above her.

"You may be the best now, AJ," Ellie said, her eyes remaining on AJ. "But that's gonna change real soon."

* * *

><p>"Apparently we're not the only ones Ellie is causing trouble for," Brie commented as she watched Natalya walk backstage after losing her match.<p>

"She's a hardcore bitch, she can't help herself," Nikki said. "I finally thought of the perfect plan, since she left us that note-"

"No, you said we weren't going to do anything," Brie said, waggling a finger in Nikki's face. "Just let it go."

Nikki frowned. "Since when does a Bella let things go?"

Brie paused. "You're right. What's the plan?"

"Can't tell."

"Then why'd you bother telling me you even have a plan?"

"So now you'll spend your time thinking about it and you'll grow anxious to know what it is," Nikki replied. "I figured you'd be more on board for it."

"You scare me, Nikki."

"As I should, Brie."

"Why are you so concerned with people replacing us, anyway?" Brie asked. "We're the Bella's for god sake. No one will ever replace us. And if by some chance they do, at least no one will ever forget us."

Nikki ignored her and quickly changed into her ring gear. "You better hurry, we only have ten minutes until we're on."

"Right, forgot. I always look forward to you bossing me around in public, on TV and everything."

Nikki smiled and dragged her to the gorilla, where they waited for the match to end. Once it did, the two Divas walked out to the ring to their music. Nikki forcefully yanked Brie around, sputtering orders in her ear. Brie responded by jerking away and glaring at her sister.

In no time Nikki beat Cameron. She was slowly making her way back to the top of this company. Soon, she would be the champion again.

* * *

><p>The next day, AJ and Dean took advantage of their day off and went to the gym. AJ wanted to make sure she was ready to take on her<em> mystery<em> opponent on Sunday.

"So you have no idea who it is?" Dean asked as he unzipped his leather jacket and set it on one of the free benches.

"I don't have a clue," AJ replied. "I figured Lita, or someone like her. She won't tell me exactly who it is, though. Which is annoying now that I think about it."

"Yeah," Dean agrees as he begins stretching. "Maybe it's-"

"-I mean, I'm the champion, don't I have the right to know who I'm facing?" AJ interrupted, following Dean's lead and began stretching. "Maybe it's because she wants my reaction to the mystery Diva to be real."

"Or-"

"_Which_ also offends me, because does she not trust my acting?"

"Take a breath," Dean said quickly. "And quit interrupting me while you're at it."

"Sorry," AJ frowns as she lifts up the weights. "I get carried away sometimes."

"You do sometimes," Dean agreed. "But it's okay. You're really cute when you're all flustered and mad."

"I know," AJ said with a grin. "I am cute. But you're much cuter."

She sticks her tongue out at him. He gladly returns the gesture, causing the small Diva to giggle.

"Oh! I forgot to ask, would you want to be my dinner date?"

"Dinner date?" AJ asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah. My.. old friend and his girlfriend and I scheduled a date together.. I figured you would want to come," Dean said.

"Of course I'll come," AJ said.

"Then it's a date," Dean spoke with a grin.

"When is it?"

"A few weeks."

Over on the other side of the gym, Paige runs on the treadmill until she can't feel her legs anymore. She turns it off and hops off the machine, turning around and bumping right into Seth's muscular chest.

"Damn it, Seth," Paige said with a grin. "Why must you always do that?"

He shrugged as his eyes flickered to her forehead. "You're sweating."

"Yeah, that happens when you workout."

"So, you're done here?" He asked with a small frown. He didn't want her to leave.

"Er, no," Paige lied. She hadn't anticipated on Seth showing up and now that he has, she doesn't want to leave, even though she's very tired and hot.

"Mind if I workout with you?"

"Not at all," she replied with a smile. She jumps back onto the treadmill and jogs beside him. "So, any fun plans for our few days off?"

"Actually, I do have a... Dinner to go to, with a friend, in a few weeks," he said.

"Sounds fun," Paige said, not really listening to the words, instead staring at his toned abs.

"It's kind of this double date thing," Seth explains. "And I'm.. short of a date."

"Huh," Paige said, still distracted.

Seth continued, "Would you mind being my date?"

"Sure," Paige responded, her mind wondering off into the clouds.

"Great!" Seth said with a smile. "It's a date."

"It's a..." She shakes her head and moves her eyes up to meet his. "Wait, what?"

"I said it's a date," he said. "Oh, and.. Uh, the friends we, er, double dating with are friends back from my.. Home.. You know, old friends, and stuff.."

"A date," Paige repeated.

"I'll remind you about it a few days in advance," Seth said.

Paige weakly smiled and wondered how she got herself in this mess. She couldn't wait to spend time with Seth, but she wondered why he got twitchy and uncomfortable mentioning his friends. What was he hiding?


	6. Chapter 6

A warm grin made it's way on AJ's face as her eyes wandered down to her belt. Her feet carried her to the ring where she would fight her opponent for Extreme Rules. She's been dying to know who it would be.

AJ grabbed a microphone and stood in the center of the ring, suddenly turning serious.

"The number one key to being a champion is believing you're the _best_," AJ said. "It gives you an unbelievable amount of confidence and self esteem."

She listened to the crowd's reaction. Usually they cheered, but now.. Now some were booing her.

It only made her smile grow. "Some people have to pretend they're the best. Others, don't have to lie to themselves and everyone around them. Because they _are_ the best. One of those people being me."

Her eyes travelled to the stage. "No Diva has had the guts to face me, let alone beat me. No one has proved themselves worthy for an opportunity like this. No one. So I'm granting an open challenge. Anyone,_ anyone_ from that locker room can come on out and face me for my Divas Championship."

The crowd now began cheering at her news.

"That is, if any Diva back there has the guts," AJ said, smirking. "Any single Diva who thinks they stand a chance against me can come on out. C'mon, don't be shy."

She tapped her foot and moved her eyes to the ceiling as she awaited for her mystery opponent. She waited anxiously, but no one ever came out.

"No one wants to face me?" She asked. "Wow, I really over estimated you Divas."

She smirked once again. Of course no one would have the guts.

"Here's to another victory for the great AJ Lee," AJ said as she held her belt in the air.

Suddenly an evil sounding laugh echoed through the arena. AJ froze as her eyes slowly moved to the stage, where they landed on her opponent.

"And her opponent for the night, Kharma!"

AJ's eyes widened as they followed Kharma's slow movements. AJ couldn't believe this was her opponent for the night. Couldn't Stephanie give her some type of warning? And AJ just issued a match for her belt?

Sometimes AJ's craziness scared even her.

Kharma finally made it to the ring, her flat expression slightly scaring AJ. She wanted to just shrink and die at that look, but of course she couldn't. Instead, she straightened her back and stood tall.

"You think you have the talent to beat me?" AJ asked, arching a brow. "I'd like to see you try."

"We'll see about that," Kharma said in a low voice. Even her voice frightened AJ.

The ref started the match, the bell's ringing echoing in AJ's ear. She ran towards Kharma and embraced her in a bear hug. She squeezed as tight as she could and tried to knock her off balance.

Kharma only smiled and jumped stomach first onto the mat, landing right on AJ. The small Diva winced in pain and backed up into the corner ropes. Her eyes moved up to Kharma who was now approaching her. Yeah, maybe it wasn't a good idea to agree to this match.

Kharma reached down and yanked AJ up, throwing her across the ring. AJ closed her eyes from the impact and hoped she would be able to win this without getting injured.

Her eyes snapped open as a heavy foot stepped onto her stomach. Kharma kicked her in the gut repeatedly, almost making AJ want to puke.

Kharma moved towards the corner rope and slowly got on it. She jumped, aiming to land right on AJ, but the small Diva rolled out of the way, causing Kharma to land painfully onto the mat.

AJ didn't want to let Kharma get the best of her again so she jumped onto Kharma and pounded her head onto the mat, screaming at her to just give up already.

She hopped off of Kharma and walked around in circles. Just as Kharma sat up, AJ backed up into the ropes and ran towards her, planting a kick right in her face. AJ decided to show her to do wrestle correctly, so she did exactly what Kharma tried to earlier and climbed onto the corner rope.

She raised her arms in the air and went to jump, but Kharma stood up and moved towards her. Before AJ could get down or even try to fight back, Kharma pushed her off the ropes.

AJ landed on the steel steps, grimacing at the pain shooting through her body. The crowd began chanting for Kharma, cheering and clapping for her. It only made her feel worse. Why were they cheering for Kharma instead of AJ?

Kharma jumped out of the ring and moved towards AJ as she was now standing. She used her big, muscular arm to push her into the barricade. AJ slid down until her butt hit the floor and let her hair cover her face, to cover the fact that she is in pain.

"I thought you wanted to see me try and beat you?" Kharma taunted with a cold laugh. "It seems to me I'm doing a good job of it."

Kharma pulled her up and pushed her into the ring, following right after her. She delivered a clothesline each time AJ tried to get up.

She pinned AJ, but the Diva kicked out at two. Kharma balled up her fists in anger and picked AJ up, ready to do her finisher. AJ reversed it and kicked Kharma in the head, sending her falling to the ground.

AJ could feel her adrenaline pumping as she performed wrestling move after wrestling move to ensure her win. Finally, AJ was able to get Kharma in the Black Widow.

Only Kharma didn't tap out.

Instead, she used her strength and jumped down onto the mat, landing hard onto AJ. The crowd continued their loud cheering for Kharma.

She once again picked AJ up and tried to perform her finisher. This time, AJ didn't reverse the move.

She pinned AJ for the second time, but once again, AJ kicked out at late two.

Kharma cursed under her breath and wondered what it would take to break the Diva.

AJ stood up, her hand reaching out to grab the ropes to help balance herself. She locked eyes with the beast standing before her, who didn't intimidate her as much now.

AJ ran towards her and kicked her right in the stomach. She turned back around, while Kharma was on her knees, she performed the Shining Wizard.

She pinned Kharma and watched as the ref slammed his hand down on the mat once.. Then twice.. Then a third time.

With an excited grin, AJ bounced up and grabbed the belt the ref was holding out for her. She held the belt up in the air and skipped around Kharma.

"Next time," AJ started with a laugh, "at least_ try_ to win."

* * *

><p>Two eyes narrowed as she watched the match unfold on the screen. Anger and jealousy seared through her. But, after a few seconds, she cooled down. She knows one of these days she'll get her match against AJ, and she knows that she can easily beat her.<p>

She watched as AJ skipped backstage, the Divas belt strapped around her waist. She doesn't understand why AJ deserves that belt and not her.

What she can't wait for the most is the look on AJ's face when she wins that match and becomes the champion..

Yeah, that makes all this drama worth it.

A laugh escapes her mouth. She knows she starts unnecessary drama, and frankly, she doesn't care.

Ellie is a drama queen and she expects to be treated like royalty. Because one of these days, she'll become the queen of the Divas Division. One of these days.

* * *

><p>"You killed it out there," Dean said backstage, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.<p>

"I wasn't expecting her to come out," AJ admitted. "Stephanie sure did surprise me. I actually thought it was going to be Maryse."

"I told you there was nothing to worry about," Dean said. "You went out there and kicked butt."

"I know," AJ said, their hands intertwining as they began walking. "I was worried the entire match. Fighting her made me realize I may not be as good as I thought I was."

Dean remained silent, pretending he didn't hear her comment.

AJ huffed out a sigh. "Maybe I should start training more. Maybe that'll help me."

"That's a great idea," Dean said, smiling. "I'd be happy to train you."

"You're too easy. I need someone who's a challenge."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Too easy?"

"Yes. I know all of your moves, everything."

"I might regret asking this, but how?"

"I watch every single one of your matches, and I pay pretty close attention," replied AJ. "Plus I've wrestled with you before as well."

"Go ask one of your Diva friends," Dean suggested.

AJ's face fell. "Yeah, I would if I had any."

"You're not friends with anyone back there?"

"Nope," AJ said, trying to hide her sadness from it. "Either they hate me for being too good and rubbing it in their faces, or I hate them for being a bitch."

"There's always Paige," Dean said as he stiffened, waiting his smack on the arm for even _mentioning_ Paige.

But AJ didn't react at all. "You know why I'm not gonna ask her to train with me, Dean."

"I don't see why not," Dean said. "You guys left each other in a weird, unhealthy way. And I think it's about time you mend that mistake."

"Don't go telling me how to live my life," AJ said, a faint chuckle escaping her lips.

Dean raised up his hands. "I'm not, I'm just saying-"

"And all I'm saying is to stay out of this, okay?"

Dean didn't answer. He didn't know why AJ was getting angry at Paige all of a sudden. Weren't they over this fight?

"Hey, Stephanie wants to talk to you two."

Two pairs of eyes snapped up to see John Cena standing in front of them.

"About?" Dean asked.

"I'm not sure," John replied. "She said it was important."

Something in his eyes told Dean it was bad. He ignored it and tightened his grip on AJ's hand, pulling her towards Stephanie's office.

Dean and AJ shared a confused look and scurried off to Stephanie's office. AJ raised her fist to knock on the door, but Dean just opened it and barged in.

"What's up?" Dean asked, hoping he at least sounds calm.

Stephanie stood up and leaned over her desk. She brushed back a strand of brown hair behind her ear. "It's-"

"It's not about my match, is it?" AJ questioned. "Because I didn't think it was too bad."

"It's Randy," Stephanie said. AJ's eyes fell to the ground as the memories of what he did came flowing back. Everything he said to her, how he hit Dean, the sadistic look in his eyes.. She moved her eyes back up to Stephanie's and waited for her to continue. "He's fully recovered from his head injury, and is now back at work."

Dean's voice remained flat as he asked, "Why are you telling us this?"

"We wanted to know if you two were up for some_ revenge_."

* * *

><p><strong>Raise your hand if you hate Ellie! I know I do! But, Ellie does play a big part in this story, so sadly she must stay and continue being a drama queen.. <strong>**Hope you liked the chapter! Review please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm loving all the new people that are reviewing, and I just wanted to say thanks! Oh, and what did you guys think of Survivor Series? Nikki won in such a weird way haha. Plus I am so happy for Dolph Ziggler!**

* * *

><p>"Revenge?" AJ asked, intrigued. "What kind of revenge?"<p>

"Nothing serious," Stephanie said. "I just thought you two might want some payback. Tomorrow night on Raw, Dean, you'll go head to head against Randy. AJ, you can just accompany him down to the ring, if you so please."

"I don't know," Dean spoke, running a hand through his messy hair. "I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"Why not?" AJ demanded, putting a hand on her hip. "He deserves to be punished for what he did."

"Because," Dean replied. "I don't think I can control my anger around him after what he did.."

"Oh," AJ said, her face softening.

"We've already arranged for the match to take place," Stephanie said. "It's even going to be the Main Event."

"Once I get in that ring with him, I can't be held responsible for any injuries he gets," Dean said.

Stephanie pressed her lips into a thin line. "You will control your anger to the point that he won't receive any injuries.. Other than that, feel free to do whatever it takes to get your anger out."

A smile tugged at Dean's lips. A smile that somewhat freaked AJ out. "Randy's gonna regret ever messing with me."

Dean left the room and AJ moved to follow him, only stopping at Stephanie's voice.

"Oh, and AJ?"

"Yeah, Steph?"

She frowned. "Make sure he doesn't hurt himself. Or Randy. Can you do that for me?"

"I sure can," AJ said with a smile. She thanked her for the match then hurried out of the office.

She walked in front of Dean and ran a finger down his chest.

"I liked how angry you got back there," AJ said. "Let's head to our hotel room now."

"I like the way you think," Dean grinned as the two left the arena in a hurry.

* * *

><p>"I'm not sure how I feel about this," Paige said with a frown.<p>

"Relax, Paige," Emma said. "We still have a few hours until we have to be at the arena for Raw, so you're stuck here."

"Against my will," Paige muttered. "Can I look in the mirror yet?"

"No!" Emma exclaimed. "You can look when I'm done with your hair and makeup."

"You aren't planning on making me wear a dress, are you?" Paige asked, biting her lip. "I don't think I'm _that_ desperate."

Emma's face lit up. "That's a great idea!"

"Oh, god," Paige said. "Why did I ever agree to this?"

"You said you wanted to get Seth's attention, right?" Emma asked.

Paige nodded.

"This is the way," Emma said.

"I don't have to be all glammed up to get a guys attention," Paige argued.

"It's how I do it, and it always works for me."

"Well that's you," Paige said.

"And.. You're done." She turned Paige around so she could see herself in the mirror.

Paige's eyes widened when she saw her reflection. "That's still the same person, right?"

Emma laughed. "Yes, you goofball. I told you I'd make you look like a star."

A smile crept onto Paige's mouth. "Yeah, I guess I underestimated you."

"Now you'll never make that same mistake again, right?" Emma teased as she put her makeup away.

Paige couldn't help but stare at her reflection. Her dark hair was curled to perfection, and her makeup was just as perfect. If this didn't catch Seth's eye, she didn't know what would.

"I have a few dresses, if you want to wear one," Emma offered.

"I prefer showing up in sweats and a hoodie," Paige said, twirling a strand of hair in her finger.

"Hey! Be careful not to mess up that curl," Emma warned. "You should wear a dress, all the other Divas do."

"You mean the _Total_ Divas?" Paige asked, rolling her eyes. "Is there anything else I could wear, besides a dress?"

"Hm." Emma tapped her chin. "Do you have any tight shirts?"

"Emma," Paige laughed, smacking her on the arm. "I just want to look pretty, not seduce him or anything."

"I fail to see the difference," Emma said. She moved to her bag and began rummaging through it. She pulled out a black tube top and handed it to Paige. "Here, where this with dark jeans and that black leather jacked of yours."

"I guess it's better than a dress," Paige said as she took the shirt and quickly changed into it.

Emma dug through Paige's bag and pulled out her jeans, tossing them behind her. "There's the jeans."

After Paige changed and put her jacket on, she turned around and examined herself in the mirror. "Wow. I look-"

"Hot," Emma said with a smile as she came up behind her. "There's no way he'll ever take his eyes off you."

Paige couldn't help the smile that found it's way on her lips from the thought. "Yeah, let's hope."

Two hours later, they arrived at the arena. Emma left in a hurry to go the locker room, while Paige aimlessly walked through the halls, hoping to _accidently_ run into Seth on the way.

But she never ran into him. She was half tempted to go to the superstars locker room and just parade in to see if Seth was there. But she wasn't that desperate for him to see her.

She heaved out a sigh and turned around to head back to the locker room to tell Emma the disappointing news. As she turned the corner, she ran into someone.

Her eyes traveled up, hoping to see it was Seth.

But she wasn't greeted with his sparkling eyes. Instead it was baby blue eyes.

It was Dean.

"Oh, Dean," Paige said, adverting her eyes from his stare. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going.."

"It's fine," Dean said. Before he could move, he spotted Seth walking up to him. "Seth, hey."

"Hey buddy," Seth said, patting him on the back. His eyes moved to Paige, who was looked uncomfortable standing so close to Dean. "Paige.. Wow, your hair.. Your.. Wow, you look pretty."

Paige cursed her paleness, which only made her blush appear redder. "Thanks, Seth.. You look nice too."

Seth glanced down at his ring attire, the attire he wore every week. "Uh, thanks."

Paige bit the inside of her mouth, wondering why she said that.

"Well, I'm gonna leave now. It's getting a bit to heated for me," Dean said with a smirk as he moved past Seth. "Don't forget the di-"

"I know," Seth said, rolling his eyes. He turned his attention back on Paige. He ran a hand through his toned hair. "Do you have a match tonight?"

"Um, yeah," Paige replied. "Against Summer."

"Cool," Seth said. "I'll be sure to watch."

"So when's that date again?" Paige asked with a faint smirk.

"In 2 weeks," Seth replied. "That is, if you still want to go."

"Why wouldn't I want to go?" Paige asked.

"Why would a beautiful girl like you want to go with a guy like me?"

"Because maybe that beautiful girl, whoever she is, is really interested in that guy?"

Seth smiled. "You just admitted you liked me."

"Maybe I did," Paige said. "You called me beautiful."

"Because it's true," Seth said. "You're beautiful, whether you're all dressed up with your hair and makeup done, or if you're just in sweats and a hoodie twice your size."

Paige only smiled and fixed her gaze on her heels.

Seth glanced down at his phone after it vibrated. "I have to go, but I'll definitely see you later.. Unless you don't want to see me?"

Paige chuckled. "You know where to find me."

Seth grinned that crooked grin that Paige fell in love with. He bent down to kiss on her on the cheek.

"I'll see you around, then," he said as he walked away, leaving her stunned.

She knew she was head over heels if they could leave her feeling like that.

* * *

><p>Paige's match against Summer Rae started near the beginning of the show. She got distracted by Summer's partner, Layla, and almost lost to Summer, but quickly put her in her submission hold.<p>

Summer wasted no time in tapping out.

Before Paige could leave the ring, though, Ellie came out, standing tall on the stage.

"Congrats, Paige," Ellie said, sarcastically. "You won another match that in no way will help you become the champion."

Paige narrowed her eyes. She was getting sick of Ellie coming out and pretending she was the queen Diva, when she never actually _proved_ herself.

"You talk more than you wrestle, you know that?" Paige questioned.

"I'm just making sure the WWE Universe knows I'm the true best."

That statement reminded Paige of AJ, which sent a pang of guilt in her stomach. "Usually people prove they're the best by wrestling, not talking."

"There are other ways I could prove myself," Ellie said with a smirk.

Paige's glare deepened. "You either need to get a reality check or get the hell out of here."

The crowd cheered as Ellie fake pouted. "You sound like you're threatened by me being here.. If you sound so sure of yourself, why don't we prove it by wrestling each other?"

"I'd love to see you try and take me down," Paige said.

"Well then you're in luck," Ellie said, not moving.

"What are you waiting for?" Paige asked. "C'mon down here."

"I can't face you now," Ellie said, smirking. "Why don't we make this a match for next week? I don't think I'm busy then."

"Fine by me," Paige said. "It'll only give me more time to get ready to pound your face in."

She spun around on her heels, spinning right into a blow to the face by Nikki.

Ellie stumbled down onto the mat. Nikki pushed her sister in front of her.

"Go!" Nikki shouted, pushing her towards Ellie.

Brie began furiously kicking Ellie in the stomach. She coughed up some blood as Nikki pulled Brie back.

"That's enough, Brie!" She shouted as she pushed her behind her. "I can take it now."

Nikki bent down in Ellie's face and coldly laughed.

"I'll be seeing_ you_ at Payback in a few weeks," Nikki said, smirking. "'Cause you know what I hear? Payback's a little_ bitch_."

* * *

><p>AJ closed her eyes and mentally prepared herself for what awaited her down at the ring. She knew she'd have to face Randy sooner or later, and in this case it was sooner.<p>

She listened as she heard the announcer introduce her, her music accompanying them. She breathed in a sigh and put on her best smirk as her feet began skipping.

She received mixed emotions from the crowd. Some cheered, others booed. She ignored them and sat down next to JBL and put on a headset, just like she has done so many other times.

"AJ," Michael Cole said, not bothering to hide the surprise in his voice. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, you know," AJ said as she placed the belt on her lap. "I didn't have a match tonight, and I didn't want the fans to miss out on seeing me and my precious baby."

"Your baby being your belt?" Michael asked.

"Obviously," AJ replied, rolling her eyes. "Shh, the match is gonna start."

They focused their attention to the ring where Dean paced, flexing his muscles. He suddenly stopped, his demeanor only darkening as he watched Randy slowly walk down the ramp and towards the ring. AJ could practically feel the tension between them, and she knew she wasn't the only one.

"There seems to be a lot of tension floating around that ring," Jerry noticed.

Yeah, AJ figured they'd mention it.

"We want to remind everyone listening what happened last night at Extreme Rules," Michael started. "Roman Reigns failed to win the belt from Seth Rollins, who remains of WWE World Heavyweight champion."

"Don't forget my match," AJ said. "I'm sure it was just as good as theirs, if not better."

"That's right," JBL said. "You faced the returning Diva Kharma."

"And successfully beat," Jerry added.

AJ proudly smiled as she watched the ref start the match. Dean charged after Randy, forearm connecting with his mouth.

"Brutal hit," Michael commented.

Dean delivered punch after punch to Randy's head. Randy pushed him and kneed him in the chest. AJ bit her lip in attempts to calm her nerves. But it didn't work.

The match got more brutal as Dean didn't even try to contain his wrath. It soon got bloody as well, and Dean could've pinned Randy for the win, but he didn't.

He wanted to continue inflicting pain on Randy.

"Is there an end to Dean relentless punches?" JBL asked, only half joking.

AJ tapped her fingers against her belt as she watched Randy block one of Dean's hits and delivers an RKO out of no where.

Randy wiped the blood from his forehead and pinned Dean, who kicked out at two.

He slid out of the ring and bent under the apron, searching until he pulled out a chair.

"Randy can't possibly plan on using that," Michael said. "He'll get disqualified!"

"I don't think Randy cares at this point," AJ mumbles.

Dean stands up just as Randy threw the chair into the ring. He slid in after it, only to back up and put his hands in the air. Dean had the chair raised and looked like he was about to explode.

"You use that chair Ambrose, I'm gonna have to disqualify you!" The ref shouted.

Dean wickedly grinned and smacked the chair onto Randy. He collapsed onto the floor as the bell rang, ending the match. Dean brought the chair down on Randy's back over and over until he tossed the chair behind him.

But Dean was just getting started.

He jumped out of the ring and bent under the apron, pulling out several chairs. He threw them all onto Randy, and to top it off, he threw a table.

He then circled the ring and, not satisfied with the amount he already had, pulled out more chairs. He threw them into the ring, making sure they landed right on Randy, who was almost completely buried.

"He's a crazy man!" JBL exclaimed. "Someone needs to go stop him before he does something stupid!"

"Like he hasn't already," Michael said. "Why don't you go stop him?"

JBL paused. "I'm too old, Michael! I've got plenty of years on you. I volunteer you."

AJ frowned and wondered if Dean would ever stop. She only became worried when he pulled out a ladder.

"Crazy men and ladders are never a good combination," Jerry said. "Someone needs to go in there and help Randy!"

AJ wasn't happy she was helping Randy, but she knew as she saw Dean climb that ladder, something needed to be done.

"I guess I'll be the hero, as always" AJ said, sighing and placing her headset down. She gently set her belt down beside it. "Watch this for me, can you handle that?"

JBL nodded and watched as AJ skipped around the ring until she was near the ladder. She slid into the ring and climbed the other side of the ladder. She met Dean at the top of the ladder, who seemed about ready to jump off onto Randy.

"Dean!"

Her voice broke him out of his trance. He shook his head and looked at her. "What?"

AJ bit her lip, wondering how she would play this off to the crowd. "Don't do something stupid, okay? I don't want you getting hurt!"

Dean's face softened. Suddenly his hand reached out and pulled AJ's head to his, pulling her in for a kiss. A kiss that shocked everyone who was watching.

AJ couldn't help but kiss him back. Once he pulled away, he climbed down the ladder and walked up the ramp, standing on top of the stage and staring at AJ.

AJ climbed higher and sat her bottom down on the very top step. She crossed her legs and smiled at Dean, who remained emotionless.

"What the hell did we just see?" Michael asked.

"You know what they say," JBL said. "The unstable attracts the crazy."

* * *

><p><strong>Yes, I stole part of the ending to the match from Survivor Series ;)<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

"Dean, I can't believe you kissed me on Raw," AJ said as she slipped her shirt over her head, letting it fall to the floor. "What is Stephanie going to say? How am I going to explain to her you just couldn't control yourself? We're going to be in so much trouble."

Dean smirked. "Talk to Triple H instead. He'll understand."

AJ rolled her eyes. "You're really adorable for a pain in the ass."

"I could say the same."

AJ laughed and tied her black and white skull swimsuit. "I still can't believe you convinced me to go swimming, either. The things I put up with."

"This hotel has an amazing pool," Dean said as he walked towards her and helped her tie her swimsuit. "I thought you could use a relaxing day."

"Yeah, after last night's Raw, it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot. It is also a hard job being the champion. Not that I'm complaining," AJ said. "Do you think we'll see anyone we know from work down there?"

"Probably," Dean replied. "It's a hot, sunny day. I don't see how anyone could waste a day like this."

AJ smiled. "You know, under all that crazy, unstable emotions of yours, is a really nice, caring guy."

"Just don't tell anyone that," Dean said, grinning. Giving her a pat on the butt, he crossed over towards the door and opened it. "You ready?"

"Give me a minute," AJ said as she frantically pulled her hair into a tight ponytail. She grabbed her sunglasses and clipped them in her shirt, then grabbed the towels. "Ready."

They walked down the hallway, down the stairs towards the pool. Dean held the door open as AJ stepped in. She squinted her eyes at the sudden brightness of the outside pool.

"I'm gonna go read," AJ said as she set her towels down on one of the lounge chairs.

"Oh no," Dean said, moving closer to her. "I didn't drag you out here to read comic books."

AJ frowned. "But, Dean-"

She stopped with a sudden squeal as Dean picked her up and slung her over his shoulders. She dropped her book on the chair and waved her arms around.

"Dean! I swear-" She started but stopped as laughter took over her. "Don't you dare drop me into-"

"Sorry, pumpkin," Dean apologized with a smirk as he tossed AJ into the pool. He pulled his shirt off and tossed it behind in, then dove in after AJ.

"Dean!" AJ said, smiling. "You're gonna pay for that."

She jumped onto him, causing him to sink down in the water. He easily lifted her off of him.

"You're too easy," Dean said, shaking his head. "You should try harder."

"You want me to be a challenge?" AJ asked, raising her eyebrows. She shrugged and wrapped her legs around his waist. She smiled as she leaned closer and kissed him.

"This isn't challenging," Dean muttered as his hand roamed her bare back.

AJ pulled away and dunked Dean's head into the water, erupting into a fit of giggles.

"Look at them over there," Nikki pointed out to her sister. The two were relaxing on the lounge chairs, not too far from Dean and AJ. "They disgust me."

"Would it kill you to be nice for once?" Brie asked.

"I don't know," Nikki said, shrugging. "I don't plan on finding out."

Brie rolled her eyes. "You're impossible, Nikki. I think they're adorable."

She ignored her and watched AJ and Dean wrestle playfully in the water. She felt a pang of jealousy.

But what's there to be jealous of?

Maybe she just misses her own man. He's too busy doing business like things with WWE. Sucks to date the top star of the company.

"Brie?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think they're happy?" Nikki asked.

"Who? Dean and AJ?"

Nikki hesitated. "Yeah."

"They look like they are," Brie said, watching the two. "I hope they are. AJ deserves to be happy after everything."

"I don't know about that," Nikki said. It just wasn't fair AJ's relationship with Dean was perfect, and her relationship with John wasn't perfect. It just wasn't fair. What did AJ do to deserve this that Nikki didn't do?

* * *

><p>"Hurry up, Emma!" Paige shouted as she banged on the bathroom door. "I don't have all day!"<p>

"Okay, okay!" Emma yelled as she opened the bathroom door and twirled around. "What do ya think?"

"It's nice," Paige said. "Really shows off your tan."

"I know," Emma said, grinning. She walked past Paige and sprayed sun screen over her body. She frowned when she noticed Paige's swim suit. "You didn't have anything else to wear?"

Paige looked down at her black bikini. "What's wrong with this?"

"It's too black and predictable," Emma said. "You should go with a color, like.. Red."

"Maybe next time," Paige said as she sighed dreamily. Her eyes snapped to Emma who was moving towards the front door. "Are you finally ready to leave?"

"Yes," Emma said, rolling her eyes. "Good lord."

Paige excitedly left the hotel room and the two walked down to the pool. Once outside, Paige's eyes scanned the fairly large crowd. "Do you see him?"

"No," Emma said. "Wait, wait.. There he is!"

Paige followed Emma's finger until she landed on Seth. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she turned towards her perky friend. "I'm gonna go swim with him, will you be okay here alone?"

"Yes, you crazy love fool," Emma joked. "I'm gonna work on my tan."

She walked over to an empty lounge chair and laid down on it, closing her eyes. Paige pushed through the crowd towards Seth. An elbow popped out, knocking Paige off her balance and falling into the pool.

She swam to the surface, gasping for air. She glared at the man who pushed her, but he didn't even seem to notice. Her eyes travelled to the people around her. Luckily no one really noticed her little accident.

"Need a hand?"

Her eyes moved up to see Seth crouched down, offering a hand to Paige. Scratch that, someone did notice. And the last person she wanted to.

"I saw that guy push you," he said, frowning. "Dick move on his part."

"It's fine," Paige shrugged it off and reached up for Seth's hand. But, instead of him pulling her up, she pulled him down with a grin.

"Shit!"

She laughed as he clumsily stood up beside her, his breathing becoming heavy.

"That wasn't funny," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm laughing, aren't I?" She teased.

His fake glare changed into a smile. "Yeah, I probably would've done the same thing."

Paige couldn't help her eyes drooping down to his chest. "I would've kicked the bloody shit out of you if you did that to me."

"Oh really?" he asked, chuckling. "So where's your friend?"

"Emma?" Paige asked. "Oh, she's over there tanning."

"Oh."

"Why?" Paige asked. "Did you want her here?"

"No! Not at all," Seth said. "I mean, not that she's a bad person to hang out with or anything, because she's not, but.. I'm glad it's just us."

Suddenly the air between them changed. It felt uncomfortable them being so close in the water. Paige hoped Seth didn't notice this.

"So, uh," Seth started, rubbing his neck.

Of course. He did notice.

"Do you want to come over to my hotel room tonight?" Seth asked, nervously fidgeting.

"Seth," Paige started, raising a knowing eyebrow. "Are you asking me to ha-"

"No!" Seth quickly answered, his face turning red. "I mean, no.. I just thought we could talk or something.. Not that I don't want to, because I_ do_.. Wait, I mean I don't.. Maybe... Just.. Forget everything I just said."

Paige laughed. "I was kidding, Seth! I'll come over, if you want me to."

His eyes moved down to the water in the pool that was bobbing back and forth. "Oh. I didn't know you were kidding.."

"That was kind of funny, though," Paige said, still cracking a smile. "And cute."

"Oh please," Seth said. "I'm not cute. I'm manly."

"Can't you be both?"

He paused. "No."

"Okay, then you're just going to be cute," Paige said, shrugging. "Being manly just doesn't seem to fit you."

"It doesn't?" Seth asked. "Only a manly man would have these kinds of abs."

Paige laughed as the people swimming next to them began slashing water everywhere. She got a devilish smile as she splashed Seth right in the face. He laughed, only to splash her back.

It was times like these that Paige would cherish forever. Because who knows if these two would ever be like this again?

* * *

><p>"Dean, hurry up," AJ whined as she climbed up the ladder, out of the pool. "Can't you tell it's gonna rain soon? We're practically the only ones here!"<p>

"Oh, quit complaining," Dean said as helped push her up the ladder. "You're already wet, rain's not going to hurt you."

"It might," AJ said as she wrapped the towel around her body. "We spent all day out here, are you satisfied now?"

"Yeah," Dean said, wrapping his arms around her. "But.. The night could still get better."

A loud clap of thunder echoed through the sky as rain began pouring down. AJ looked up at it and let out a sigh. She loved the rain, just not when she was caught in it.

Dean smiled at AJ in the rain, who was pouting like a cute little puppy. He pulled her closer and pushed his mouth onto hers.

AJ loved the way he felt in the rain. But, no matter how irresistible he was, she had to pull away. She walked over and picked up the other remaining towel, which was now soaked.

"We can finish that in the hotel room," AJ said with a smirk as she waltzed past him, into the hotel.

Dean shook his head and followed her. "You're gonna be the end of me, AJ."

An hour later, AJ dried her hair from taking a _very_ fun shower. She tied it into a messy bun and put on her tank top and sweats.

"I'm going to go get a drink, Dean!" AJ shouted as she grabbed money from his wallet.

"Okay! Have fun!" Dean shouted back from the bathroom. AJ smiled at him and slipped her shoes on, then headed out the door. She walked down the hotel hallway and noticed how eerily silent it was. It kind of freaked her out.

She decided against the elevator- too paranoid it would break with her luck- and took the stairs. She walked down two floors and into the lobby. She didn't see a single soul, only the woman at the front desk. It was weird not being in crowded places for her. She was so used to them.

She walked over to the gift shop and looked for some decent drinks. She was sick of drinking pop, because that's all Dean wanted. She decided on some grape juice.

After buying, AJ trudged back to her room. She was slowly walking up the stairs, she was so worn out from swimming all day. She had a lot of fun, but Dean did some competitive swimming. He just couldn't let her read her comics.

She finally reached her floor. Her hand hovered over the door handle as she glanced behind her. Did she not just hear someone call out her name?

She shrugged and opened the door, walking into the air conditioned hallway. Her feet suddenly stopped as she spun around.

"Is someone there?" AJ called out. An answer never came, so AJ quickly walked towards her room. Which, conveniently enough, was at the end of the hallway.

Suddenly AJ felt a sharp pain in her head. The bottle fell from her hand as she too collapsed onto the floor, as everything went black.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you guys are ready for some intense drama. Can you guess what happened to AJ? Or what will happen to her? And who could possibly be behind it all?<strong>

**Oh, and just curious, who do you guys like seeing more in these chapters: Seth & Paige or Dean & AJ?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Happy Thanksgiving! I'll tell you something I'm thankful for: all of you! Everyone who reviews, follows, favorites, or even just reads! Thank you all so much!**

* * *

><p>When AJ came to, all she saw was darkness. She felt choked by all the black that surrounded her, like it was going to reach out and strangle her. Then she heard voices talking around her. But for some reason she couldn't open her eyes, so she just laid there and listened closely.<p>

_"But will she be okay?"_

Wait.. That voice sounded familiar..

_"She will be,"_ a female answered, someone that AJ didn't recognize. _"She just needs about a month to recover, a month without wrestling or doing anything fast paced, such as other sports."_

A month? To recover from what? And why the hell can't she wrestle?

_"Do you know when she'll wake up?"_ the first voice asked.

Wait, that was Dean! AJ suddenly felt relieved that Dean was there with her.

_"A few hours. She needs time to rest," _the second voice replied. AJ assumed it was the doctor.

_"So, how exactly did this happen?"_

_"Well," _the doctor started,_ "It was no accident. The bump on the back of her head proves that someone hit her there, causing her to fall like you said. I'm not sure who would deliberately do this, but whoever it was, they had the full intent of hurting Miss AJ."_

Silence filled the room as AJ took this in. Did someone actually do this to her? Who?

_"Alright.. Thanks for taking care of her," _Dean thanked.

_"Just doing my job," _the doctor said. _"I'll be back in an hour or so to check up on her."_

She heard footsteps, then nothing. It remained that way until she opened her eyes, what seemed like forever later. She squinted at the brightness in the room. Her eyes travelled to Dean who was sitting on the chair next to her, hanging his head in his hands. He was visibly shaking.

"What're you doing?" AJ asked.

Dean jump as his head snapped up. He stood up, promptly pushing the chair behind him, almost knocking it down. "AJ, you're okay. Thank god."

"What happened?"

"You, uh." Dean ran a hand through his hair. "You didn't come back to the hotel room, so I went out looking for you. I figured you were either lost or looking at all the little key chains at the gift shop. But then I saw you in the hallway, just lying there. I thought... I rushed you to the hospital and they did some tests.. You have a concussion, but that's thankfully it."

AJ furrowed her eyebrows. "I vaguely remember this.. pain in my head, then just falling."

Dean's face went blank. "You think someone did this to you? Hit you in the head, knocking you out?"

"That's the logical explanation," AJ answered. "I wouldn't get a concussion this bad from just hitting my head off the floor."

Dean clenched his fists. "I swear, I ever find him, I will _kill_ him."

"Oh, you'll find him. Tomorrow, when we air SmackDown."

"It was one of our co-workers?"

AJ nodded. "I didn't actually see anyone, but who else would it be? The boogie man?"

"So who is it?" Dean asked. AJ raised her eyebrows, pushing him to answer it himself. His voice went flat as his knuckles turned white. "Randy."

"That'd be my guess," AJ said. "I mean, you gave him a concussion. He's only returning the gesture."

"The fucker," Dean muttered under his breath. "Next time I see him, he'll be wishing I only gave him a concussion."

"Dean," AJ spoke softly, reaching out and grabbing his hands. "Please.. Don't do anything until we know for sure it was him?"

He shook his head. "I can't make that promise, AJ."

"For me?" AJ asked, sticking her bottom lip out.

"Fine," Dean caved. "But if it was him-"

"Then I'll let you end him or whatever," AJ said, rolling her eyes.

"Does your head hurt?"

"A little," AJ lied. It hurt like a bitch. "Wait, Dean.. when you said you took me to the hospital, how did you get here if you didn't call a cab? We don't have a car."

He shrugged and avoided her gaze. "I stole a car."

"You _what_?!"

"I ran out the hotel, carrying you, because no one was at the front desk, not a single damn person, and there was a person getting out of their car. They left the keys in, so I took it and drove you here."

"Oh my god."

"Don't worry," he dismissed. "I returned it."

"What if you get caught?"

"I wont," he said. "He never noticed."

"Wait.. If you returned it.. How long have I been out?"

"About.." He glanced down at his watch. "Six or seven hours?"

"You left me alone?"

"I didn't want to go to jail, then you'd _really_ be alone." He stood up and gently kissed her on the forehead. "I'm gonna go get the doctor, okay? I'll be right back."

AJ nodded and watched as he left the room. She must've had him really freaked out if he stole a car. That just goes to show how much he cares about her.

She hopes he knows she'd steal a car for him too.

* * *

><p>"This isn't fair," AJ mumbled as she slowly walked into the arena. She was able to leave the day of SmackDown, and now she had to go explain to Stephanie she couldn't be in any strenuous activities or movement for a month. "This sucks."<p>

"I know, baby. But it'll be over before you know it," Dean said, giving her hand a light squeeze. "Remember, she's still gonna lay it on us about our little kiss the other day."

"Ugh. I forgot that," AJ grunted. She followed Dean into her office as he tapped on the door.

"You two," Stephanie said, narrowing her eyes. "I'm glad you showed up. I need to have a word with you both."

"Yeah," AJ said, slowly placing her butt down on the seat. "We have a few things to tell you as well."

"Like what?"

"I'm suffering from a month long concussion right now," AJ said. "Can't wrestle.. Nothing."

Stephanie remained quiet, her eyes glued to the white walls. "A month until you recover, you say?"

"Yes," AJ quietly replied.

"Okay, now that we got that out of the way, lay it on us," Dean said.

"Are you referring to that special moment you two had on Raw?"

"Yep," Dean replied.

"I'm not going to lie, that move really pissed me off," Stephanie said. "This totally throws our whole plans for you off course!"

Dean smirked. "Sorry, I guess I just couldn't help myself."

"That's the problem right there," Stephanie said. "And you can wipe that damn smirk off your face. If you could've controlled your urges, we wouldn't be having this conversation!"

"Don't worry, Steph," Dean dismissed casually. "You think I would really do something without having a plan?"

"I'm sure you have a brilliant plan," Stephanie remarked, folding her arms over her chest.

"I'm offended," Dean scoffed.

"What's your plan then, Dean?"

Dean glanced at AJ, giving her a crooked smile. "We pair AJ and Dean up on wrestling."

"That's your plan?" Stephanie asked. "Thanks for that, Einstein! I could've come up with that!"

"Then why didn't you?" Dean snapped. "AJ can't wrestle, so she'll just be my girlfriend on TV until she can. Then you can have the choice of whether to break it up or not. And you're right, you could've thought of that. I'm surprised you didn't, Steph."

Her glare deepened. "Don't make me angry, Dean. Or I _will_ make this job a living hell for you. Don't think I won't hesitate."

"I have an idea," AJ said before things got too heated. "I know how we could play this out on TV."

"I'm listening," Stephanie said, taking a seat in her swivel chair.

"Well," AJ started. "First, for SmackDown tonight, we'll have AJ explain to the WWE Universe what she did on Monday. Then, on Raw, Dean will respond to AJ's explanation. Then, after that's all settled, the _real_ fun begins."

* * *

><p>AJ slowly walked down to the ring with a microphone in her hand, careful not to disturb her concussion. She slowly got into the ring and stood right in the center.<p>

"I know what you're all thinking," AJ began, twirling her hair with her free hand. "Why did I climb that ladder and prevent Dean from risking his own_ career_, then kissed the living hell out of him? Hm, that's a tough one."

She glanced to the stage. "In case you're not wondering why I did that, let's rewind it back to Monday Night Raw. Maybe then you'll be thinking about my decision."

She watched the clip of her climbing the ladder and pleading with Dean not to jump. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she watched Dean kiss her.

The clip ended and AJ continued her explanation. "There isn't an answer out there that I could tell you that would justify my actions, that would explain why I did that. At least, not an answer you're expecting. And I can't expect you to understand why I did it. But I guess I owe it to you to try."

She took in a deep breath and glanced down at the belt that wrapped around her waist. "It's always just been me. It's always been AJ Lee vs. the world! And sure, a few times it has changed, but ultimately it ended with ending up alone again. And I thought I was fine with that. And I am. But, sometimes, it doesn't hurt the hero to have a sidekick."

"You guys might be thinking, what the hell does Dean have that attracts me? Well, I realized something that Dean and I have in common," AJ said. "We are very similar, actually. We have the same perspective on this company, the same perspective on _life_. And that simple connection was enough to pull me towards him. We're like two magnets. And I don't think I'll be able to pull away. I don't think I _want_ to pull away."

JBL snorted over at the commentary table. "Their craziness is their biggest similarity."

AJ heard the comment and sent a death glare his way. He pressed his lips together and avoided her stare.

"Dean has captured my attention, and I'm not going to let him slip from my grasp. I won't make that mistake again. And I don't give a damn what the authority thinks of this. Whether they hate it, or encourage it. Whether they force me to ignore my feelings and ignore him all together. Stephanie isn't the queen here, I am," AJ said, adding a light shrug. "And that's something she'll learn real soon. She can't force me not to be with who I'm _meant_ to be with. No, I won't follow that rule." She smirked, her eyes flickering down to her belt. "Some guys are just worth breaking the rules for."

* * *

><p>"God, look at her," Paige said in the Divas locker room. "Did you just see that promo AJ did?"<p>

"Yes," Emma said, raising her eyebrows. "I was standing right here the whole entire time, listening to you make snide remarks about AJ."

Paige rolled her eyes. "Sorry, I forgot you were there."

"Yeah, whatever." Emma turned away from the mirror and brushed her blonde hair. In the distance, AJ walked into the locker room, freezing as she heard her name. "What was so bad about AJ's promo, anyway?"

"I don't know," Paige said. "It sucked. I hate it. I hate _her_."

"I thought you were over this," she said.

"Over what?"

"Your hatred for AJ," replied Emma.

"I am!" Paige said, throwing her arms up. She then slumped down onto the floor and sighed. "You're right, I'm not."

"I know," Emma said softly, sliding down next to Paige. The two were oblivious to the Diva who was eavesdropping from afar.

"I just, I thought it would be easier once all the feuding and hating was over," Paige said. "You know? But then the hating didn't stop. And I tried to ignore it, I really did. I don't even know why I hate her so much. Is it because I'm jealous? I envy her, Emma. I really do. She has the title, and that's the only thing I ever wanted. Is it because of how she holds herself? Maybe. But she's definitely doing a better job of holding herself than I am. I'm a mess, Emma. A failure."

"You're many things, Paige, and a failure is not one of them," Emma concluded. "You're the Anti Diva, the Diva everyone loves. People can't get enough of you. Did you not hear all those fans booing the crap outta AJ? They wouldn't boo you. They love you. We all do."

"People can love failures."

Emma frowned. "You're not a failure. You've been the champion twice now, and I know your days of being champion are far from over. C'mon, why don't we go to our hotel and pig out while watching dumb comedies?"

Paige stifled a grin. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to try."

The two stood up and grabbed their bags. AJ slowly walked past them, careful not to move her head a certain way and to make sure they didn't see her.

Did people really think this low of AJ? Maybe there's a reason behind all this hatred being sent her way.

She didn't bothering changing, only her shirt, since she was already wearing jeans. She walked towards the men's locker room and waited outside for Dean. She leaned against the wall and thought for a moment.

She never realized how much Paige hated her. Does this mean Nikki hates her too? Probably. But does AJ hate those two as well? She didn't even know anymore.

She jumped, causing a wave of pain in her head, as she heard a banging coming from inside the locker room. She snickered, wondering what the banging was. But then she heard shouting, and she recognized one of the voices.

Rushing in as fast as AJ could without hurting her head, she widened her eyes upon seeing Dean pinning Randy against the wall. A few superstars circled around them, but kept their distance, like they were afraid. AJ, however, wasn't.

"Just admit it, you fucker," Dean growled. "Admit you did it!"

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about," Randy spat out, narrowing his eyes. "Get the hell off me before I lose my temper."

Dean coldly laughed. "Oh, you'll lose you're temper? What, are you gonna knock me out too?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" Dean shouted as he pushed him closer against the wall.

"Dean, that's enough!" AJ said, loud enough that he could hear. "Let him go, Dean."

"AJ, move before you get hurt," Dean said.

"No," AJ said, putting her hands on her hips. "Dean, it wasn't him, okay?"

"How the hell do you know that?"

"Can't you tell? It wasn't him, so let him go," AJ demanded. Dean loosened his grip. "Dean, _now_."

He finally let him go, and Randy quickly slid out of his way and back towards the door. He glared at Dean until he escaped outside the locker room.

His eyes moved to lock with AJ's. "How do you know it wasn't him?"

"I could tell, he wasn't lying," AJ responded. "But I now know who it might be."

"If it wasn't Randy, then who?"

* * *

><p>A small smile appeared as she applied chap stick. She checked out her reflection in the mirror, nodding in approval.<p>

She was ecstatic knowing that the Divas champion, the perfect Miss AJ Lee, wouldn't be able to perform for a month. She was hoping it would be longer, but apparently she didn't hit her hard enough. Next time she'll have to try harder.

If there even is a next time. She knows she might get caught doing this, and right now, she doesn't care. She needs that belt back, she longs for it to be in her hands. She wants to be known as the Divas champion, not just another drab Diva in the locker room. She wants to be known for something.

She wants people to remember her name.

She wants to become a legend. So then in fifty years or so, the new Divas will look back on her as a role model. She wants to be the longest reigning Divas champion. She just wants to be everything AJ is.

There isn't a damn thing she wouldn't do, hence the attacking on AJ. She _will_ get what she wants, because in the end she always does. Always has and always will.

Maybe she's trying too hard. Maybe she's not trying hard enough. But it doesn't really matter how you get to that one destination, right? It doesn't matter what roads you take, you'll still end up in the same place. It doesn't matter if you take the highway- the normal way- or you decide to be adventurous and take the dirt roads.

She decided to take the dirt roads. It's more fulfilling.

She's going to prove to this company that she is the one thing they're missing. She's the missing puzzle piece to the broken Divas Division. She's going to be their savor. It won't be AJ, it won't be Paige, it won't be any of the other Divas that are just kind of there.

The Diva that would one day change the world is Ellie. And she isn't letting_ anyone_ stand in her way.


	10. Chapter 10

"You think it was Ellie?" Dean asked as he picked up AJ's bag and slung it over his shoulder. The two walked out of the arena and towards the rental car AJ insisted on having.

"It wasn't Randy," AJ said. "Who else could've done it?"

"I don't know, Nikki?"

"It wasn't her," she answered. "I know it wasn't. After everything we've been through, she wouldn't do that. Not now."

Dean remained quiet as he opened the trunk of the car and shoved their bags in. He slammed it and walked around to the passengers side, opening the door for AJ. She slowly got in and buckled as Dean moved around to the other side.

"Should I go beat Ellie up?" Dean asked as he pulled his door shut, shoving the keys in.

"No," AJ said, chuckling. "I don't want a replay of what I just saw ten minutes ago. We've been in enough trouble as it is."

Dean backed the car up, then drove onto the main road. "Are you planning on doing anything about it?"

"I can't exactly do anything about it now, can I?"

"In a month you'll be able to."

"Yeah, but I'm not risking losing my title to that snob," AJ said. "I won't let her take my baby from me."

Dean's hands turned white from squeezing the steering wheel.

"Dean, you need to calm down," AJ said. "I'm perfectly fine, alright? I only have a minor concussion."

Dean's tight grip loosened as he stopped the car at a red light. He turned his head to face AJ. "Do you want to know what I thought when I first saw you in the hotel?"

"What?"

"I thought you were dead," Dean replied, his voice cracking. "I thought I had lost you. You were just lying there, and I couldn't tell if you were breathing, and it scared me to death."

AJ looked down at her lap as a single tear escaped her eye.

"I'm sorry," AJ spoke quietly.

"It's not your fault," Dean said. "I just.. I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you now, AJ. I can't. I swear, AJ, I'll die protecting you if I have to."

AJ lifted her head up and locked eyes with Dean as another tear escaped. "I know. I would too."

"There's not a damn thing I wouldn't do for you," he said. "And if it was Ellie, believe me when I say she's gonna pay."

AJ smiled as Dean kissed her gently on the head. A car horn beeped from behind them, making Dean continue driving.

"I love you, Dean," AJ said, reaching out and grabbing his free hand.

"I love you too." He squeezed her hand.

They arrived at the hotel ten minutes later. Dean parked the car and turned the engine off. Together they walked up to their room where AJ fell asleep in Dean's arms.

* * *

><p>Paige yawned quietly and stretched her arms in the air. She glanced over at the clock on the nightstand, her eyes widening when she saw the time. 5:22 A.M.<p>

"Shit," she muttered as she tossed the blankets off her and jumped off the bed. She quickly picked up pieces of her clothing and put them on. She grabbed her boots and slid them over her sweatpants that were inside out. She froze at the door, casting a glance at the bed where a figure laid, sleeping and snoring softly. Paige smiled and quietly left the hotel room.

She jogged up the floor to her own room and used her key to get in. She took her boots off and slid into her own bed, right next to Emma's. She squeezed her eyes shut and pulled the covers over her head, thankful that she hadn't been caught.

She'll just have to be more careful next time. She didn't mean to fall asleep, but he had her worn out. It's only happened twice now, but Paige could definitely get used to it.

Before she knew it, she fell asleep. She woke up around the time Emma did, and thankfully she didn't ask Paige any questions.

"You want to go to the gym with me?" Emma asked as she emerged from the bathroom, her hair in a white towel.

"Sure," Paige replied, giving a light shrug. She quickly changed and the two left for the gym. Once she walked in, though, she immediately regretted it. "God, I see Ellie."

"Really?" Emma asked, squinting in the direction of her gaze. "She doesn't strike me as the type who would work out."

"She kind of has to, she's a wrestler."

"She doesn't strike me has a wrestler, either," Emma said, chuckling.

Paige and Emma set their stuff down and began stretching.

"Hey, check out who's coming Ellie's way," Emma said, jerking her chin towards Ellie. Paige cracked a grin as she saw the Bella Twins walking towards her. By the looks of it, Nikki seemed angry.

"That's a fight just waiting to happen," Paige said, chuckling. "It won't be good when it explodes."

"Yeah, we'll probably have to step in."

"Probably," Paige agreed, sighing.

"So what took you so long last night?"

Paige's face went blank. "What do you mean?"

"You went to get ice or something," Emma said. "You didn't come back after twenty or so minutes, so I just fell asleep."

"There.. was a long line."

"To get ice?"

"Yes," Paige said. "Quit grilling me about this, okay?"

Emma raised her eyebrows suspiciously. "Why are you getting so defensive? And how come I didn't see any ice this morning?"

"I'm not, okay? And I used it all," Paige said, huffing out a sigh. "Just let it go."

"Whatever," Emma said, rolling her eyes. She titled her head as she heard yelling. Her eyes moved to Ellie, who was pushing Brie. "Hey, we should probably step in now."

Paige casted a glance to the three Divas. "Yeah, let's go."

* * *

><p>"There's Ellie," Brie noticed, subtly pointing in the direction of the Diva. "Should we go talk to her?"<p>

"Actually, yeah," Nikki nodded. "I have a few things to get off my chest."

Brie stopped as Nikki went ahead of her. She shook her head, wondering why the hell she asked Nikki that.

She jogged up to her sister, who just reached Ellie.

"Ellie. Hey," Nikki greeted. "Funny seeing you here."

Ellie set her weights down and stood up. "How's that so funny?"

"Didn't think you worked out," Nikki said, checking out Ellie's arms. "At least, it looks like you don't. Might want to spend a few more hours in the gym."

Ellie scowled and folded her arms over her chest. "Are you here to make fun of me or what?"

"No, but you're such an easy target it's hard not to," Nikki said, eliciting a laugh from Brie. "Sometimes I just can't help myself."

Ellie pressed her lips together. "That's_ not_ how any good Divas champion would act."

She turned to walk past them but Nikki moved in front of Ellie, blocking her path.

"Then it's a good thing I'm not," she said, narrowing her eyes. "You know what you're going to do right now, Ellie? Besides cower like some scared child?"

"What am I going to do, Nikki?" She raised an eyebrow.

"You're going to sit there and shut your mouth and listen to me," she replied. "Are we clear?"

She remained silent, signaling that she was clear.

"I'm going to be truthful with you. Being a new Diva in this kind of business is _brutal_. You either make it or you don't. And it's hard to ensure that you do make it. You have to work day in and day out, basically dedicating yourself to the business," Nikki stated. "And a lot of people can't handle that. A lot of people can't handle being Divas, they can't handle all the work it takes to get to the top."

"I already know this, genius," Ellie said, rolling her eyes.

"You didn't let me finish," Nikki said. "The worst ways to get to the top is to create drama and kiss ass. You've already managed to do one of the two. Congrats! It gets you no where. So you can either quit while you're at it, or you can continue causing useless drama and have to deal with _me_. And that's someone you _don't_ want on your tail. Are we clear?"

Ellie stepped forward, getting closer to Nikki. "I'm not afraid of you, Miss Fake Diva."

Brie moved Nikki over and stood in front of Ellie. "The Bella's are someone you don't want to mess with. Because we will make your life a living nightmare. And don't think we won't because we've done it before. Don't think we won't do it again."

Ellie shoved Brie, causing her to bump into Nikki, who managed to catch her. She moved past her and slapped Ellie.

"Hey! Hey!" Paige shouted as she stood in between the Bella's and Ellie. She casted them each a glare. "What the hell is going on over here?"

"Like it's any of your damn business," Ellie spat.

Paige turned to face Ellie. "_Excuse_ me?"

"You heard me," Ellie said, glaring at the British Diva.

"You're right, I did. Next time, make sure I don't hear it," Paige said, mimicking her glare.

"This isn't your battle, Paige," Nikki said. "Get out of here."

"I wouldn't _be_ here if you two could be mature enough _not_ to fight in public," Paige argued.

"Why do you care so much anyway?" Ellie asked. "This is _clearly_ none of your concern."

"It _becomes _my concern when your bickering interrupts my workout," Paige replied.

Emma casted a glance behind her, noticing new people entering the gym. She grabbed Paige's arm and dragged her away, saying, "C'mon, Paige, let's go before this gets any messier."

Nikki snorted. "Of course, chicken out before a fight breaks out. Some things never change."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Paige asked, jerking away from Emma's grip. "If you're trying to say something about me, Nikki, then just say it."

"I'm trying to tell you that you always ran from fights," Nikki told her. "It's because you can't handle the heat of the moment pressure kind of thing."

"Excuse me?" Paige asked, raising her eyebrows. She glanced at Emma, then erupted into a fit of laughter. "Look at you, Nikki. Still trying to get a rise out of me. I guess some things never _do_ change."

"Now that you two are trading insults, I'm going to head out," Ellie said, bending down and picking up her bag. "Nikki, maybe you should consider taking your own advice. No one likes a drama queen, and no one likes you. Put the pieces together."

Without hesitating, Nikki reached out and slapped Ellie, so hard she fell down. She looked up at the Bella with wide eyes.

"You bitch," Ellie said as she stood up and returned the slap. Nikki raised her fist to attack but Brie held her back, dragging her away.

"It's about time we go," Brie said as she struggled to pull Nikki out the door. Paige and Emma already backed up and left the gym in a hurry.

"And to think, I thought it couldn't get worse than Nikki," Paige said with a sigh. "But it does. Ellie's the new bitch of WWE."

* * *

><p>Monday Night Raw came before they knew it. As excited as Dean and AJ were for their new lovehate feud, AJ just wanted to find a comfy bed and sleep. Her head was killing her. Not being able to wrestle was killing her.

"You ready to go be a pretend couple on TV?" Dean asked.

"You bet I am," AJ grinned. "Maybe this TV relationship will turn out better than my other ones did."

Dean laughed. "Yeah, let's hope you don't push me off a ladder or onto a table."

AJ chuckled. "And let's hope you don't break up with me on live TV."

Dean wrapped an arm around her waist. "Trust me, I won't do that."

"I know you won't," AJ said as they parted ways at the Divas locker room. AJ snuck in unnoticed and changed into her outfit for the night. She wasn't wrestling, so she settled on her denim skinny jeans and a cute cut out of Dean's unstable shirt.

She scowled when Paige and Emma entered the locker room. She still wasn't over what she heard them say about her. She couldn't believe what she hard Paige say about her. Was she actually jealous of AJ? Maybe. But was AJ jealous of Paige?

She likes to think she's not jealous of Paige. She likes to _pretend_ she isn't.

After she did her makeup and hair, she walked over to the gorilla and spotted Dean talking to one of the crew members. AJ walked over to him and grabbed his hand.

Dean finished talking to the crew member and turned his head towards AJ.

"Hey, doll face," he greeted, planting a kiss on her lips.

"Are you ready to kick Raw off with a bang?" AJ asked, grinning.

"Always am," Dean replied. He glanced over to the person he was talking to a few minutes ago, who was signaling Dean was on. "Guess it's time. I'll see you in a couple minutes."

He started to walk away, leaving AJ with a pout.

"What, no kiss goodbye?"

"Sorry," Dean smiled as he paused to glance back at her. "You'll have to wait until we're on screen."

"Okay, well good luck being my boyfriend," AJ spoke with a grin.

"Good luck being my girlfriend," he said, giving her a wink as he walked out of the gorilla and into the arena, where thousands of fans cheered for him.

* * *

><p><strong>*quietly sobs from writing the first scene between Dean and AJ*<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

At the beginning of Raw, Stephanie marched down to the ring, with Triple H by her side. She paced in the ring as Triple H sighed into the microphone.

"Last week, one of my co-workers- no, one of my _friends_ shocked the world," he started. "He stood in this ring, climbed up one of our ladders, and planned on jumping off the ladder and onto Randy. But, he got a _sidetracked_, with his little Diva."

Stephanie finally stood in one place and glared into the camera. "We want an explanation, Dean. We want to know why you kissed _poison_!"

"So why don't you come on out here, Dean," Triple H said, staring at the stage. "Why don't you come answer the question we're all thinking."

A few seconds passed by as Dean's music began playing. Dean walked out, pausing on the stage as he glanced at the crowd's thunderous cheering. He then continued on down to the ring, cracking his knuckles. He circled around the power couple until he stopped in front of them.

"You wanna know why I did what I did?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, we want to know why you did what you did," Triple H replied.

"I always considered myself a guy who lives in the moment, ya know? Standing on top that ladder, staring into AJ's eyes.. Well, I felt like having some fun. I felt like trying something different," he said. "Is that a crime now?"

"I don't know, Dean, is it?" Stephanie answered with a question. "We were hoping it was just a one time thing, just a meaningless fling, but I'm guessing we were wrong. So we will_ not_ allow this to escalate any farther. Understand?"

"Oh, I understand," Dean replied. "You don't want AJ and I together because you're afraid."

Stephanie looked taken back. "What?"

"What the hell do we have to be afraid of?" Triple H asked.

"Crazy and unstable. It's an unpredictable combination," Dean said. "There's not saying what could happen. And you two are afraid of that. You two are afraid of not knowing exactly what will unfold in the future."

"I am not afraid of some five foot pixie," Stephanie said, glaring at him. "And I'm certainly not afraid of some unstable lunatic."

"No. No, you're afraid of us taking over," Dean clarified. "Crazy and unstable. It's_ unstoppable_ together. And that's exactly what you're afraid of. Not being able to control us or stop us."

Triple H and Stephanie remained silent as this sunk in.

"Just admit it," Dean said. "You two are scared that AJ and I will have the power to take over this company. And I sure as hell know we can."

"You're just talking out of your ass, Dean," Triple H said. "You do not want to be on our hit list, you understand that? There's nothing worse than being targeted by the authority."

"You break our rules?" Stephanie spoke. "You pay the price."

"You're bargaining for more than you can offer, Dean," Triple H said. "Let's end this before it gets out of hand. Why don't you go backstage with AJ or whoever, and let us do our job in peace. It will make your life a whole lot easier."

"Who said I liked easy?" Dean asked.

Stephanie snorted. "You are with AJ, aren't you?"

Dean narrowed his eyes. He brought the mic to his mouth when AJ's music began playing. The Diva walked down to the ring with the belt wrapped around her waist. She glared at her boss who only smugly smirked.

"You better watch your mouth, Stephanie," AJ warned as she stood beside Dean. "They call me the crazy for a _reason_."

"And who would they be, AJ?" Stephanie retorted. "Dean?"

AJ clenched her fists. Dean pulled AJ behind him and glared into the eyes of the authority.

"You two have a problem with us or what?"

Stephanie and Triple H backed up until their backs pressed against the ropes.

"We don't have a problem with you," Triple H said, glancing at his wife. "But we know someone who does."

The lights went off. Darkness engulfed the room as AJ grabbed Dean's arm in panic.

The lights came back on. Bray Wyatt stood in the center of the ring with a scary grin. He slowly brought the microphone up to his mouth.

"Dean, AJ," he said, his laughter echoing the arena. "I'm here. Better run while you can."

* * *

><p>"You have a match tonight?" Emma asked as she stretched in the gorilla. "I don't."<p>

"Yeah. Against Brie," Paige replied as she pulled her leather jacket on.

"Oh. Have fun, then," Emma joked as she patted her on the back. Paige grinned and walked out to the ring. She watched as Brie made her way down to the ring, with Nikki right behind her, barking orders at her. Paige rolled her eyes at the two.

The match between Brie and Paige didn't last long. Brie had her in a submission hold when Ellie ran out and tackled Nikki, who was yelling at Brie by the barricades. Brie released Paige and leaned over the ropes, yelling at Ellie, who had her sister pinned to the ground.

Paige rolled Brie up from behind and pinned her for the win. She rolled out of the ring and threw her hands in the air as she backed up onto the stage.

Brie jumped out of the ring, landing right on Ellie. She got on top of her and began pounding her fists down on the new Diva. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and got off of her. She walked over to Nikki and helped her up.

The two walked backstage, leaving Ellie curled up in a ball in pain.

"I hate that bitch so much," Nikki muttered as she attempted to fix her hair.

"We all do," Brie agreed with a sigh. "But there isn't much we can do about her."

"Yeah, because you won't let me," she said with an eye roll.

The two walked into the locker room, past Paige who was freaking out.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked.

"Yes.. No," Paige said. "Tomorrow night is that dinner with Seth and his friends or whatever."

"The double date?"

"Yeah," Paige nodded. "And I'm just a little nervous."

"What's there to be nervous about?"

Paige bit her lip to keep from spilling everything to Emma. She honestly didn't know what she and Seth were. Are they together? Or are they just a meaningless fling?

* * *

><p>The next day, Paige furiously whipped out pieces of clothing from her bag, desperate to find a decent outfit to wear.<p>

"Do you need help?" Emma offered.

"Don't I always?"

"Here," Emma said as she grabbed a purple dress. "Wear this."

Paige snatched it and examined it. "I guess it'll do."

She went into the bathroom and changed into the dress. She twirled around in front of the full body mirror and grinned. It was gorgeous.

"You like it?" A voice asked from the other side of the door.

"That's an understatement," Paige muttered as she opened the door. "Well?"

"It's perfect."

Paige crossed the room, towards her vibrating phone. She picked it up and answered the call.

"Seth?"

"Yeah, it's me," Seth said. "I'm down at the lobby.. Whenever you're ready?"

"Okay, just give me a minute."

"Yeah." The call ended.

Paige grabbed her purse and turned towards Emma. "I'll be back.. Probably in a few hours."

"Oh, you won't be back," Emma said with a wink. Paige laughed and left the hotel room, walking towards the lobby. Her jaw dropped as she saw Seth all dressed up.

"Seth, you're looking nice," Paige said with a smile as she came up behind him.

"You look amazing," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist. They walked towards the cab that was already waiting for them. Seth opened Paige's door as she got in, then he scooted in after her. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Dean, without Paige noticing.

'_We just left the hotel.'_

* * *

><p>"I can't wait to rip that dress off of you," Dean growled in AJ's ear, eliciting a smirk.<p>

"I don't know if you'll be doing that," AJ said, shrugging. "My head kind of hurts."

"Liar."

"I guess we'll find out later," AJ smirked as she walked past Dean, towards the door. "Can we leave now? I'm hungry."

"Give me a minute, will you?"

"I don't want to be late."

"We're not going to be late," he said as he pulled out his phone, secretly looking for any new texts. "We've got time."

AJ groaned as Dean's phone vibrated, catching her attention. Her eyes snapped up to his, which were scanning the text.

"Who texted you?"

"What? No one," he replied as he shoved his phone back into his pocket.

"Then why did your phone vibrate?"

"It was.. Alerting me it was time to go," he said as he grabbed AJ's hand and pulled her out of the hotel room. "C'mon, we don't want to be late."

"Oh, wow." She rolled her eyes and followed him to the parking lot as they waved a cab over.

"How long until we get there?" AJ asked as the driver pulled the cab out of the parking lot.

"Not too long," he said, wrapping an arm around AJ, who snuggled up in his chest. "You've been very impatient lately. What's going on?"

"Nothing, I'm just hungry."

"That too," he said, frowning. "You've been hungrier than usual."

"What, being hungry is a crime?"

"You've also been moody," Dean said. His eyes grew wider as a thought bounced into his head. "Oh god. Are you pregnant?"

"_What_?"

"You heard me," Dean said, suddenly freaking out. "Is my child in your stomach?"

AJ's face softened. "I didn't want you to find out this way."

Dean's eyes drifted off to the back of the seat. "Holy shit.. Holy_ fucking_ shit. I'm gonna be a dad. _Fuck_."

AJ reached up and caressed his cheek. "Yeah, but you'll be a good dad. I have faith in you."

"When were you planning on telling me? And how come the doctors didn't say anything when you were at the hospital? And I thought you were in the pill? Do I need to go buy the biggest box of condoms, or chocolate, or what? Should I go make an appointment with the doctors? Does this mean-"

AJ erupted into a fit of giggles. She smacked Dean on the arm. "God, Dean, I'm _kidding_!"

"You're kidding?" Dean asked, suddenly growing annoyed. "That wasn't very nice."

"You love me," AJ said. "Besides, I could never have a kid at this point in my life. I have my whole career ahead of me, and I don't want to give that up yet. I'm the Divas champion, and I can't let my fans down. They need me."

"So, you're expecting me to wait that long to have a kid?"

AJ's face went blank. "You were _just_ freaking out about having a kid, and now you suddenly want one?"

"I never said I didn't want it," Dean said. "I just don't want one now. But I don't want to wait forever to get my goddamn_ daughter_!"

AJ rolled her eyes. "Dean, I am not having this conversation with you in the back of a cab."

"Fine. We'll talk about it later."

"No," AJ said. "We just talked about it. I'm not going to have a kid anytime soon, and that's final. End of discussion."

Dean huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. AJ smiled at his cuteness and leaned her head down on his shoulder, flinching slightly at the pain.

The cab pulled up to the restaurant. Dean gave him the money and got out of the car. AJ followed him inside the restaurant where Dean talked to the waiter. She pointed him in the direction of a table that AJ couldn't see. So she just followed behind him and kept her eyes on the floor. She felt a bit bad for tricking Dean like that.

"Hey, man," Dean greeted as he pulled out a chair for AJ. He sat down next to her and stared across the table at Seth. "Long time no see."

"Seth? We came all this way to have dinner with _Seth_?" AJ asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Glad to know you enjoy my company, AJ," Seth said, slightly offended.

"You couldn't tell me we were having dinner with Seth?"

"No," Dean said, growing frustrated. He needed to calm down if he and Seth wanted this plan to work. "You never really asked who our dates were."

"Speaking of which, Seth where's your date?"

"Uh," he said in a panicked voice. "She's in the bathroom."

"Oh," AJ said as she glanced behind her. "Do I know her?"

"Probably," Seth said, forcing a tight shrug. AJ furrowed her eyebrows as she heard a familiar voice.

"I'm back from-" Paige stopped as she stood in front of the table, glaring at AJ. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same," AJ said, narrowing her eyes. Paige sat down and crossed her legs. "Seth, you said I _probably_ know her?"

"I never agreed to having dinner with _that_," Paige told Seth.

"Likewise," AJ spat out.

"Yeah.. I'm real sorry about that," Seth said, frowning. "We just thought it would be better if you two tried to be friends."

"There's a reason we're not friends," Paige said.

"Yeah, it's because you're a backstabbing bitch."

Paige narrowed her eyes at AJ. "Excuse me? Miss snobby, know-it-all princess?"

Dean glanced at Seth. "This may have been a bad idea."

"You think?" Paige said, rolling her eyes in frustration. She started to stand up. "That's it. C'mon, Seth. We're leaving. I'm not dealing with a night like this."

"I knew you couldn't stand one night of sitting with me, being _civilized_," AJ said.

Paige froze and glared at her. "I can be_ very_ civilized, AJ. More than you can."

AJ snickered. "Mhm."

"Fine, then I'll stay." Paige sat back down and crossed her arms over her chest. "But I never said I would enjoy it."

"Mutual feeling!" AJ retorted.

Dean let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "This is going to be a_ long_ night."

* * *

><p><strong>How many of you are mad at me for tricking you like that? Haha don't worry, this isn't your typical story. No one's going to get pregnant or anything.<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

"Paige," AJ started with a fake smile, "Would you please pass me the salt?"

"Sure, AJ," Paige replied with a similar fake smile as she handed AJ the salt, accidentally knocking it over, spilling it's contents onto the table. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry."

"No worries," AJ spoke as she picked it up and gentle poured the salt over her food. She used a napkin and cleaned up the mess. "I've got it under control."

Dean and Seth shared a worried look. What was going on here? They were acting strangely nice, and to say it wasn't freaking them out would be a lie. They actually liked it more when they were at each other's throats.. Maybe.

Silence took over the dinner as everyone ate their food. The silence was honestly scaring Seth and he didn't like it one bit. For all he knows, Paige and AJ could be plotting each other's death.

"So, Dean, how's... work?" Seth asked.

"Work's going good," Dean replied, shoving a piece of meat in his mouth. "How's it treating you? Being champ must be nice."

"Yeah, it is," Seth agreed. "Work's work. It can get tiresome being champ, but I wouldn't trade it for the world."

The small talk ended there until Dean decided to try a different topic. The silence was killing him.

"Are you doing anything on Friday?"

"Dean," Seth said, chuckling. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

Dean laughed. "Yep. Sorry, man. I couldn't hide it any longer."

AJ smacked him in the arm but laughed with them. Paige even cracked a smile.

"Yeah, I'd say I'm free that day," Seth said. He casted a glance towards Paige. "Paige, are we free that day?"

"What do you mean we?" Paige asked, shrugging. "I don't give a shit what you do in your free time, Seth."

Seth frowned but ignored the harsh comment.

"I was thinking we could work out together," Dean said. "AJ can't keep up with my tough workout process."

"Shut up," AJ said, grinning. "You know I could beat you in a wrestling match."

"We won't know until we try, now will we?"

AJ chuckled. "Wait until the end of this month, and you got yourself a deal."

"I heard about the concussion," Seth spoke. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay," AJ shrugged off. "It's good actually. Gives me a _reason_ to go beat Ellie up."

Paige's eyes snapped up at the mention of Ellie. "What does Ellie have to do with this?"

"She's the one who did this to me," AJ said, raising her eyebrows.

"So that bitch isn't just causing problems for me," Paige muttered. "Or even Nikki."

"She's trying to get to the top of this company in all the wrong ways," AJ said.

"I know! She drives me insane," Paige said.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way," AJ said.

"Oh, you're definitely not," Paige said. "Everyone hates her, from what I can tell."

"I kind of want to set her straight, you know, maybe be a decent person? But I also-"

"-just want to punch her in the nose," Paige finished. "Yeah, I can relate. Big time."

"It's funny, we can finally agree on something."

Paige snorted. "Who knew it would be Ellie. The queen bitch of WWE."

AJ flinched. "She is_ so_ not the queen. I am."

Paige arched a brow. "You're the queen bitch now?"

AJ shrugged. "You tell me."

Paige laughed. "Ah, some things never do change."

Dean and Seth shared yet another look, but this one not filled with so much concern. They were glad the two were on the same page and not plotting each other's death, but.. Now they're plotting Ellie's.

"What? Me being the best?" AJ asked. "Then you're right, some things don't change."

"No, _that_ is what doesn't change," Paige said, waving her fork around in the air. "You being so damn full of yourself."

"I'm not full of myself," AJ dismissed. "I'm just.. letting everyone know how I feel about my talent."

"Hm, nice way to put it," Paige said. "Either way, you're just bragging."

"I'm not bragging, okay?" She set her glass down, a little too forcefully. "Just get off my back."

"I was never _on_ your back," Paige said, narrowing her eyes. "I'm just saying, acting like that will bring you a lot of enemies down the road."

"Well, when you have nothing _but_ enemies, that's not really a problem," AJ said.

"Paige, you're overreacting just a tad," Seth said. "Maybe you should cool down."

"I'm not overreacting, I'm just telling the truth," Paige said.

"I'm only telling the truth too!" AJ said.

"AJ, maybe you should stop being so defensive," Dean said as he put an arm around her and rubbed his hand in small circles on the small of her back. "You don't want to get too worked up."

"Yeah, _AJ_, quit being so defensive," Paige mocked.

"Then quit acting like my mom and stay out of my damn business," AJ argued.

"Maybe I wouldn't_ have_ to if you would quit acting like a child," Paige hissed.

"Okay, that's enough," Seth said. "Both of you. Just.. shut up for a minute, at least."

Dean smirked and glanced at AJ, who was staring at her plate. He then glanced in front of AJ at Paige, who was chipping away black nail polish.

"I think we're about done here," Dean said as he waved the waiter over to get the check. "Split it in half?"

Seth nodded. "Yeah, we'll split."

After they paid, AJ stormed into the bathroom and Paige stormed outside. Dean and Seth stood at their table, watching them go.

"So. Mission accomplished?" Seth asked.

Dean nodded. "Oh yeah. Mission accomplished."

* * *

><p>"What was that all about?" Seth demanded as he and Paige stood in front of her hotel room.<p>

"What?"

"Just.. you the whole entire time," Seth said. "You weren't acting like yourself."

"Excuse me if talking about Ellie brings that bitchy side of me out."

"C'mon. This is not about Ellie and you know it."

"Okay," Paige said, her shoulders slumping. "I don't why I acted that way. But it seems whenever I'm around her, we're just picking and clawing at each other, trying to start some fight. And I don't know why."

"You.. you also basically said we're not together?"

Paige unlocked the door to her hotel room. "We're not."

The door slammed in Seth's face. He slumped his shoulders and walked all the way to his room.

"How'd it go?" Emma asked as she shot up from her bed, turning the TV off.

"It was just a set up."

"Uh, what?"

"Seth tricked me into going to dinner with AJ and Dean," Paige answered flatly as she crawled into her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. Emma took the hint and got into her own bed, turning the light out.

Paige stared at the wall until her vision grew blurry. She just didn't know what she wanted anymore. She heard if it's too good to be true, then it probably isn't. Maybe she's just in over her head. Maybe she's just overreacting again.

Or maybe she's in love.

* * *

><p>"AJ, come on. You seriously can't be mad at me for this," Dean pleaded as he sat down on the bed next to AJ. "Babe..."<p>

AJ scooted away from him and turned her back on him. He chuckled as his hands reached out to her small waist and pulled her back towards him.

"Stop!"

"Quit being mad!"

AJ scooted back until her body touched the wall. She pulled her knees to her chest. "If you didn't want me mad you wouldn't have tricked me into having dinner with a witch!"

"I didn't trick you!"

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I didn't! You never asked who we were going with, so I didn't_ have_ to trick you!"

"I _didn't_ ask because you said it was an old friend, Dean!"

"It was an old friend!"

"No it wasn't!"

"Seth is too an old friend! I've known him for years!"

"You said I didn't know him!"

"I _never_ said that!"

"Why are you lying so much?!"

"I'm not lying, AJ!"

"God, Dean! You're being such a.. a jerk!"

"A jerk?" Dean asked, stifling laughter. "That's the best you could come up with?"

"Do you _want_ me to hurt your feelings?"

He fake pouted. "Who says you didn't?"

AJ stuck out her tongue. "Good, I meant to."

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did."

"Whatever you say, doll," Dean said as he stood up and pulled his shirt off, revealing his toned abs. "I'm gonna go take a steamy, hot shower."

He smirked at AJ as he tossed his dark shirt aside. He walked into the bathroom, leaving the door slightly ajar.

"Jerk," AJ muttered. Her eyes flickered everywhere but the door. She glanced down at her nails as she heard the water turn on. She paused, then jumped off the bed and walked into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her.

* * *

><p>The next night was SmackDown. AJ and Dean were once again excited to be an onscreen couple. But, that would have to wait until after AJ did commentary.<p>

AJ walked down past the ring and to the announcer's table. She took a seat and propped the Divas belt onto the table as she placed a headset on.

"AJ," Michael greeted with an nod. "How's our Divas champion doing?"

"She's doing great, Michael," AJ replied with a smile. "Just great."

Her eyes glued to the stage, where the first competitor was making her way out. Ellie. How nice.

"We're glad you could join us tonight," Michael continued. "We love hearing what you have to say about the Divas."

"Oh, I definitely have a few things to say about _that_ Diva," AJ mumbled under her breath. JBL caught it and chuckled.

"So what do you think about Ellie, AJ?" JBL asked.

"I think she should be down at NXT, where she belongs," she replied, watching as Eva Marie now came out. "Where a lot of Divas belong."

"Okay, who else do you think belongs down there?" Michael asked.

"Oh, I'm not going to mention any names," she coughed, "_Ellie_, _Eva, basically the rest of the locker room_.. Because I'm not a snitch or anything, Michael."

Before the ref could ring the bell, officially starting the match, Ellie charged after Eva and speared her into the corner rope. She rammed her shoulder into her side relentlessly.

"Ellie does know the match hasn't started yet, right?" Jerry joked.

Ellie now threw Eva out of the ring and got onto the top rope. She raised her hands in the air and leaped off, landing right on Eva. She rolled off of her and dragged Eva in front of the announcer's table. She roughly grabbed her and pulled her up.

She threw Eva over the table, right where AJ was sitting. Luckily AJ noticed it in time and jumped off her chair just as Eva was thrown onto it. Her eyes wandered to Ellie, who was snidely smirking at AJ. She knew she had a concussion. She _was_ the one who gave it to her. And yet she tried to push Eva onto her?

"You bitch," AJ said as she ran towards Ellie and pushed her over. She ignored the pounding in her head and kicked her repeatedly in her stomach. She wiped her mouth and flipped her hair for the extra effect, walking over and grabbing her belt. She skipped backstage, almost bumping into a fuming Dean.

"God, Dean, excited to see me?" she joked.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, violently shaking his hand at the arena behind the walls. "You're not supposed to be doing any strenuous activities!"

"Yeah, well. We all do things we're not supposed to do," AJ said, raising an eyebrow. "Like last night?"

Dean smirked, but it quickly faded away. "That fucker needs to learn not to give people fucking concussions and then almost beat them up."

"She didn't beat me up," AJ said as she walked down the halls to where they're supposed to be. "She _did_ throw another person I despise on me, but your quick girlfriend moved out of the way in time."

"Yeah, and I'm guessing you have a killer headache now?"

She didn't say anything to that, because she did. But the pain's worth it.

"That's what I thought," Dean said. "Next time, promise me you'll be careful?"

"I promise," AJ said, rolling her eyes. "Ready for our promo?"

"Always am," he replied. He bent down and gave her a quick kiss. "Are you?"

AJ smirked. "Always."

"That's my girl," he grinned as she walked away. He turned around to the approaching cameraman. Dean leaned against the wall and pulled out his phone. The cameraman waved his hand as the camera turned on, signaling the promo now started.

The tip of Dean's tongue stuck out as he clicked on one of his apps. His head snapped up as he heard footsteps approaching. "Hey, pigtails."

"Did you see the match?"

"What match?"

AJ frowned. "The match that I was doing commentary on? You didn't see it?"

"No," he said, gesturing to his phone. "I was playing Candy Crush."

AJ's face looked crushed. "You were too busy to watch me?"

"AJ, c'mon," Dean said. "I would've watched it if I had known you were out there."

Her frown deepened as she walked away. Dean sighed but went back to playing his game. He let out a laugh as AJ stalked back to him. She yanked the phone out of his hand and threw it onto the ground. She stomped her foot onto it until it shattered into a million pieces.

She walked away with a smirk as Dean stared at her with his mouth wide open.

"What the hell?"

Near the end of SmackDown, they had another little promo to do. AJ was walking down the hall, her fists balled up. Dean jogged behind her and grabbed her arm, making her stop.

"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't watch your match or whatever," he apologized. "Do you forgive me?"

AJ stared up at him with a blank face until she smiled. "I was never mad, Dean."

She skipped away from him. Dean shook his head and followed after her. Bray Wyatt walked closer into view and coldly laughed.

"I gave you a chance to run, Dean," he said, narrowing his eyes and lowering his head. "Now it's _too late_."


	13. Chapter 13

"Seth, hey. You made it," Dean greeted with a grin. "I didn't think you were going to show."

"I said I'd be here," Seth said as he moved farther into the gym. "It only took me so long because I was waiting for Paige."

Dean eye's moved past him. "So.. where is she?"

"Not here," Seth joked. Dean narrowed his eyes at him. "Sorry, her sarcasm is rubbing off on me."

"That still doesn't tell me where she is."

Seth rolled his eyes. "You're so impatient. I sent her a text, telling her to meet me in the lobby if she wanted to come down with me.. But she never showed, surprisingly."

"Is she mad at you or something?"

"I don't know," Seth said as he stretched. "I just keep driving her away, ya know? I just say the wrong things at the wrong time, which makes it _extremely_ awkward-"

"Yeah, you tend to do that," Dean said, following Seth's lead and stretching. "Make things awkward and all."

"I just feel like maybe she doesn't like me," Seth sighed, frowning. "Maybe she's just using me."

"Using you?" Dean chuckled. "What could she use you for?"

Seth waggled his eyebrows.

"Oh.. that," Dean spoke. "You never told me about that."

"Never thought I was obligated to."

Dean grinned. "I can't believe you finally lost your virginity. It's about damn time."

Seth rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Dean."

He frowned. "Now you sound like AJ."

"Maybe that's why things are bad," Seth said. "Because we rushed into things?"

"Maybe," Dean replied, shrugging. "You should just give her space, let her think things through."

Seth frowned. The last thing he wanted was to be away from Paige. "So where's AJ?"

"She didn't want to come because her head hurt," Dean answered. "Plus, she thought Paige would be here."

"You're not having any problems either, then?"

"Not really," he said. "I mean, our problems definitely aren't as rough as yours, but.."

"But what?" Seth asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I don't know how to explain it, man. She's just changing."

"Changing?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded. "She's become a lot pushier, bossier, more impatient.. I don't know what's gotten into her."

"She isn't..." Seth swallowed a nervous knot in his throat. "Pregnant, is she?"

Dean laughed. "No, I brought that up in the cab the other night. She said she wasn't."

"Maybe she doesn't know she is."

"I doubt it, Seth."

"Is she mad at you for accusing her of being pregnant?"

"She was," he said. "But I think after the whole Paige deal at dinner, she forgot about that. So no, I don't think she's mad at me.. I hope she's not mad at me."

Seth bit his lip to keep from laughing. "Women. Why are they so complicated?"

"Why are you asking me that?" Dean joked, laughing with him. "I'm no women expert."

"It's obvious neither of us are," Seth stopped laughing, growing serious again. "Do you still have the ring?"

Dean closed his eyes. "Yes. It's in my wallet, hidden."

"When are you going to ask her?"

"I don't know. I know she likes me, obviously, but we haven't been together for long. I don't want to rush her like you did."

Seth rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

"When I do ask her, I want it to be romantic," he explained. "I know AJ likes that stuff. She just won't admit it."

Seth placed a hand over his heart. "Awe, who knew you had a loving bone in your body."

"If you don't shut it I'm gonna _break_ your loving bones."

"_Ouch_," Seth teased.

"But, seriously, just give her some space," Dean said. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"She could dump me on the curb," Seth sadly answered.

"For her to dump you, you two would have to be _together_."

Seth frowned until his eyes lit up. "That's it, maybe I should just ask her to be my girlfriend."

"Yeah, go see how well that plays out for ya," he joked as his eyes drifted off to the ground. Maybe he should take his relationship with AJ to the next level too.

* * *

><p>"AJ! I'm back!" Dean shouted as he closed the door behind him. He set his bag down on the bed. "You still here?"<p>

AJ emerged from the bathroom with a small smile. "Hey. I was wondering when you'd come back."

"Well, here I am," he said. His eyes flickered to the balcony at the sun that was slowly setting. "It's getting late, what do you say we call it a night?"

AJ stifled laughter as she glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's only eight."

"Working out all day's got me tired," he said, shrugging. "You're not gonna make me sleep alone, are you?"

"I'm not that mean," she joked as she crawled into the bed. He crawled in next to her and turned the light out. He closed his eyes, focusing on the beat of her heart. He waited until she was snoring to gently set her down on the bed. He pulled one of his shirts over his head and quietly slipped his jacket on. He grabbed his wallet and, taking one last peak at AJ, left the room.

The next morning, AJ awoke to a door being slammed. She sat up and squinted her eyes at the man who awoke her.

"Dean?" She rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn. "What're you doing?"

Dean's head snapped up, a smile growing on his face as he saw AJ was awake. "Nothing. Just.. nothing."

AJ swung her legs over the bed and hopped off. "Why are you slamming the doors, waking me up?"

"I woke you up? Sorry," he muttered as he took long stride to reach the other end of the room. He pulled the curtains shut and turned around.

"You're being.. weird," AJ commented as she moved in front of the mirror and ran a hand through her messy hair.

"You're being weird," Dean said as he locked himself in the bathroom.

"Okay," AJ mumbled as she changed into her clothes for the day. "I'm just going to go.. watch lame movies."

She laid back down on the bed and turned the TV on. She viewed all the movies she could find on each channel before settling on an old movie. Dean walked out of the bathroom and casually sat next to AJ's head.

"What're you watching?"

"A movie."

"What kind of movie?"

"A boring one."

"Awesome," he said as he stood up and grabbed his wallet. He shoved it into his pants pocket and walked back over to AJ. He bent down and planted a kiss on her head.

"I'll be right back, okay?"

"Okay."

She watched as he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. She heaved out a loud sigh, gluing her eyes to the screen as the movie's credits rolled on.

Maybe Dean was just planning her a surprise. Maybe that's why he was acting weird and leaving so suddenly.

Then again, AJ's always hated surprises.

* * *

><p>Seth jogged through the halls of the WWE arena. He still had a few hours before Raw started, and he planned on spending his hours talking to Paige. That is, if he could find her.<p>

He already checked with the Divas in the locker room, and they all said she didn't show yet. So all Seth could do was wait for her.

His feet came to a stop as he was running out of breath. He leaned up against the cold wall and pulled out his phone. He debated on sending Paige another text. He'd already sent two, and he border the line of creepiness.

"Seth."

Before his mind could register the female voice, his head jerked up, only to sulk back down with an aggravated frown. It wasn't Paige.

"Ellie."

"How's our champ doing?" she asked, leaning her side against the wall.

"Good. Just.. waiting."

"For what?"

Seth's eyes locked with hers. "That's none of your concern, Ellie."

"Sorry," she said, backing off. "I could always wait here with you.. Because who likes waiting alone?"

"In some cases, me," he muttered as he glanced to the other side of him.

"So, what're you waiting on?" she asked, scooting closer to him. "Or rather, who?"

"Once again, I don't see how any of this is your concern."

Ellie frowned. "You have a habit of that, huh? Pushing people away?"

Seth gazed down at his feet. "A lot of people have been telling me that lately."

Ellie reached out and rubbed his arm. "Trouble in paradise?"

Seth, oblivious to the contact, nodded. He couldn't stop thinking about Paige.

"I can help you, if you want," she offered, pulling her arm away.

"No offense, but how can you help?"

She smiled. "I can help you get your mind off things."

"How-" The words died on his lips as he narrowed his eyes. "What are you getting at, Ellie?"

"I'm just saying," she shrugged, "One night of fun won't hurt anyone."

Seth shook his head. "Give it a rest, Ellie. My answer's no. And it will_ always_ be no."

Ellie frowned and grabbed his hand. "It might help clear your mind."

Seth jerked away from her touch. "My mind doesn't need clearing."

She paused, a grin slowly spreading on her lips. "Doesn't it, though?"

He remained silent as he glanced down at his phone once more, wishing she would text back.

"Think about it. You're here, talking to me, turning _me_ down. You must be in pretty deep to turn someone like me down. The question remains, though. Who?"

Seth opened his mouth to argue when his phone finally vibrated. His eyes lit up as he read the text from Paige, oblivious to Ellie reading over his shoulder.

"Paige.. Wow, didn't see that one coming," she said. "Didn't think she was your type."

"Back off, Ellie," he warned.

She leaned up and whispered in his ear, "In case you change your mind, you know where to find me."

* * *

><p>Raw started a few hours later. AJ sat on one of the crates, kicking her feet against it, while Dean taped up his wrists.<p>

"You don't know how crazy people get over you wearing a vest," AJ joked as Dean slipped it on.

"Do you get that way?" Dean asked with a smirk as he hopped up next to AJ.

"Maybe," AJ said, biting her lip. "So, what was up with you yesterday?"

"What do ya mean?"

"You were being.. I don't know, weird. Different."

"Like how?"

AJ elbowed him. "You know how. You were acting strange, not answering a single question I was asking, leaving and coming back so much. What was up with that?"

"I'm a busy man, AJ. You should know this."

"See! That's what I mean." AJ face fell. "Oh god, are you cheating on me? I knew it. It's because I'm such a geeky pain, isn't it?"

"AJ, I'm not cheating on you," Dean promised with a laugh. "If I was, I would be more secretive about it."

Her frown deepened. "That's not helping."

"I'm kidding, AJ. You're stuck with me forever."

"Who said that's a bad thing?"

"No one," he responded, smirking. After a couple minutes of going over what was to come in their match, they walked to the gorilla where they waited for Dean's music to play. Once they heard the familiar tune, they strolled down to the ring together. AJ skipped around the ring while Dean stood in the center of it, punching the air. She came to a stop on the side and rested her arms on the apron as she watched his opponent for the night make their way to the ring.

Dolph Ziggler.

AJ pounded her hands on the apron as Dean got into a tight spot. That alone was enough to motivate Dean. He delivered clothesline after clothesline to Dolph, who just couldn't seem to stay down.

He finally managed to perform his finisher on Dolph, giving him the win. AJ jogged up the stairs and slowly bent over the rope and into the ring. She jumped into Dean's arm and kissed him as he swung her around.

He set her down and, before the two could walk backstage to do a little celebrating of their own, Bray Wyatt came on the big screen. His sadistic laugh echoed though the ring.

"Dean, Dean, Dean. I see you didn't listen to my warning."

Dean glanced at AJ, then behind her, until he returned his attention back to Bray.

"Not a very wise choice, Dean," Bray said. "You're going to be regretting this for a long time. You may be wondering, why? What do you have to be afraid of? After your own daddy abandoned you, what's there left to fear?"

He clenched his fists at the mention of his father. AJ's arm wrapped around his waist as he tried to calm him down.

Bray laughed again. "I'll show you myself what fear is come Payback. You'll definitely be regretting ever messing with a man like me. A man who is very similar to you. A man who craves violence, a man who craves fear. A man who is a_ monster_."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the late update. Things might be slowing down a bit for December, what with Christmas and all. And what could Dean possibly be planning? Is he hiding something bad? Who knows! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!<strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**Yes, I know. I haven't been keeping my promise of updating faster, and I'm sorry. This one was meant to be posted yesterday, but then the internet stopped working. Jussst my luck.**

**Anyway, here's the chapter. Not much going on, mostly setting stuff up that'll occur in later chapters. Hope you enjoy it! And please don't forget to leave a review, I hope you all haven't left me!**

* * *

><p>Seth stood by the door to the Divas locker room, awkwardly waiting for Paige to come out. So far he's encountered a few Divas leaving who thought he was trying to spy on them, to which he politely told them he was waiting for someone.<p>

He doubts they believed him.

He tapped his foot against the floor when he heard the door open. He glanced to his left, not expecting it to be Paige. An excited grin crept it's way onto his face when he realized he was wrong.

Paige walked away from him, not even noticing he was standing there. He jogged up to catch her.

"Paige! Hey, wait," he said as he grabbed her arm, making her stop. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she hissed, jerking away from his grasp.

"Something's wrong. I can tell."

"Oh yeah? It's that obvious?"

"Paige, you've been avoiding me all night, and ignoring all my texts and calls," he pointed out. "Something's wrong."

"_No_, I sent you that one text."

Seth rolled his eyes. "I asked if you wanted to talk, and all you said was _sure_."

"I replied, didn't I?" she snapped. "And here we are right now, _talking_ like I said."

"Why are you being so difficult?"

"I don't know," she said quietly. "I just want to be alone right now."

She began walking away. He ran a hand over his face and ran up to her again, walking beside her.

"Is it that you just don't want to be with me?"

"Do _you_ want to be with me?" Paige asked, whipping her head to the side. "Because it seems to me you're just using me."

"Using you?" He let out a forced laugh. "You think I'm using you?"

"It makes sense," she said. "You only want me to come down to your hotel room to _make you feel better_."

"No, don't pin the blame on me," he said. "I am_ not_ using you, Paige. No, it's the other way around. You're using me."

"What would I be using you for, Seth? Huh? Tell me that," she said, causing Seth to flinch. "You ask me to come to your room, and I come without a complaint."

"Oh, now you're complaining? I thought you liked it?" he asked. "I mean, you screaming my name loud enough for frickin' China to hear made that clear."

Paige smacked him in the arm. "You pig."

"I'm just saying, that day at the pool, when I invited you over? I wasn't planning on sleeping with you, okay? And you can't give me any of that shit, because you were the one who made the first move."

Paige chuckled. "This is so messed up. We both thought we were using each other."

"So, where does this leave us?"

Paige bit her lip. "Where do you want it to leave us?"

"Wherever's fine, as long as I'm with you," he said. "I don't want to fight with you. It's all over nonsense anyway."

She smiled and pulled him in for a hug. "It drove me crazy, not seeing you all week."

"Well here I am," he whispered softly into her hair. "And I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

><p>One half of the loved Bella twins stood in front of the mirror, frowning at what she saw. In an angry fit, she threw her brush to the ground and bit her tongue to keep from screaming. She was furious at the newbie who was stealing all the attention from her.<p>

This was _her_ spotlight, her show. Not Ellie's.

Nikki's lips twitched as an idea popped in her mind. An idea she's tucked away for emergencies only. She almost once took advantage of it, but decided against it. Now's she glad she hasn't.

What do newbies like Ellie crave the most? What is the one thing they desperately want?

Attention.

They want people to notice them. They want to make a name for themselves, a name no one will ever remember. They want the spotlight all to themselves, never once sharing it with anyone. They just want_ attention_.

What happens if they can't get that attention? They drive themselves crazy over it. She's been here for so little people could easily forget about her. People are always being forgotten about.

She knows exactly what needs to be done. What has to be done. She's going to make Ellie wish she never became a Diva. She's going to regret ever messing with the wrong Bella.

Revenge is what Nikki does best, and she plans on taking full advantage of that. She knows something needs to be done, and clearly she's the only person capable of doing it. Like always.

Just as there are two sides to every story, there are two sides to every person. One that we reveal to the world and another we keep hidden inside.

* * *

><p>"I missed this," Seth said, pulling Paige closer to him. "Waking up with you in my arms gives me a reason to wake up."<p>

She softly chuckled. "So, are we good now?"

"Never been better."

She frowned. She could sense some hidden emotion. "What's up?"

"I just feel like we won't last long."

She sat up and looked at him. "Why wouldn't we? We're happy now-"

"For now," he stated. "But what happens in the future when a problem arises?"

"Then we'll fix it."

"You make it sound so simple."

"That's because it_ is_ simple, Seth."

He looked at her with sad eyes. "But what if it isn't?"

Paige sighed. "Why are you being so difficult now?"

"I just don't want to lose you. I just came close."

He didn't like to even think about the possibility of losing her. She's already made a big impact on his life, and he wasn't going to let her go so soon.

"You're not going to lose me," she reassured. "You're stuck with me until we're old and useless, wasting our days away playing bingo."

He chuckled, reaching under the blanket for her hand. She wrapped her fingers around his and squeezed. He knew she was right, though he wasn't sure if they'd last that long.

"There may be problems in the future," Paige said. "And I can't promise you that they won't come. But we won't let that problem come between us. We'll talk it out, or do whatever it takes, okay?"

A grin crept it's way up his face. "Okay. But here's the last chance to leave me, though."

She laughed. "What?"

"I'm just saying," he shrugged, suddenly in a better mood. "That I'm a boatload of work, and some girls don't have the energy to deal with me. So I'll give you the chance to escape while you can."

"Seth," she said, smacking him on his bare chest. "I just got done telling you I'm not going to leave you."

"I'm glad you agreed to be my girlfriend, and I'm also glad you won't leave me."

She smiled. "You never asked me to be your girlfriend."

His face went blank. "We just talked about you_ leaving_ me. For you to leave me, we'd have to be _together_."

She laughed again. "I'm kidding! It's just cute seeing you get all flustered and all."

"No it's not," he said, shaking his head. "You just like getting me all worked up."

She smiled and leaned down, kissing his head. "We have to go to work."

"I know, but I don't wanna."

"But we have to," she said, offering him an encouraging smile. "C'mon, I'm going to go take a shower."

He grinned before it faded away. "You sure we'll be alright?"

"You trust me, right?"

"With my life."

"Then trust me when I say," she started, "nothing will be strong enough to tear us apart."

Little did they know there was some thing strong enough to break them apart. Something that would dig and claw at their relationship until it shattered into a million pieces.

Ellie.

* * *

><p>Nikki glanced down at her watch as she sat on one of the crates in the gorilla. Her feet kicked against it as she waited for Brie. They had a match on SmackDown tonight against Eva Marie. Afterwards they were to do a promo about Ellie.<p>

She couldn't wait.

Hearing footsteps, she takes a peak behind her. A smirk tugs at her lips as her eyes study the brunette approaching her, who wore a similar smirk.

"AJ."

"Nikki."

"How's our champ doing?" she asked with fake sweetness.

"She's doing better knowing a crazy, psychotic Bella isn't on her tail," she retorted, folding her arms over her chest.

"Watch what you say around me," she warned, narrowing her eyes. "I don't take to kindly to that insult."

"Most people don't like the truth," AJ said with a smirk, cocking her head to the side.

"Are you here looking for a fight, AJ?"

"No, not this time," she said, her eyes flickering to the ground. "I'm simply avoiding Ellie. She won't leave me be."

Nikki smirked. "You've got problems with her too?"

"Of course," she said. "I've got problems with everyone."

Her head moved to the hallway where Brie walked towards them. She offered AJ an actual sincere smile and sat next to Nikki.

"AJ, hey. It's been a while," Brie spoke.

"For a reason," AJ said. "I'm going to go before Ellie finds me."

"If you bring her here you'll have two seconds before I strangle either one of you," Nikki warned. "It'll take me two seconds to decide which one I despise more."

"Good to know," AJ said, nodding. She gave them a half-hearted wave and skipped away.

"So, are you ready for our match?" Brie asked.

"I've been ready. I've been waiting for you."

The two waited a few minutes until they were called out. Nikki pushed Brie behind her and pushed the curtains aside, strolling out to the arena where she could hear the fans booing, the sound echoing in her ear.

* * *

><p><strong>Ah! So many problems are arising! And somehow they all lead back to Ellie.. Hm, foreshadowing, do you think?<strong>


	15. Chapter 15

"You don't boo a Bella. That's not how it works!" Nikki said, poking herself in the chest. Her eyes surveyed the audience that only booed louder. Her eyes landed on a sign that was dedicated to the Bella twins. It was always nice to see fans. She glanced at her sister with a smirk, shaking her head. "You know what? It doesn't matter. We're above you all anyway. Your booing has no effect on us."

Her smirk remained intact while the crowds booing grew louder. She shoved the microphone into Brie's hand as her opponent, Eva, came out. She bounced in place as the ref started the match.

Nikki charged after Eva and rammed her into the corner rope. She kicked her in the stomach until Eva slumped down to the ground. Nikki backed up and ran towards her, delivering a dropkick to her.

She rolled Eva up for the pin, but the redheaded Diva managed to kick out at two. Nikki picked Eva up, who then elbowed her in the face. While she was down, Eva grabbed her and threw her out of the ring.

Nikki landed near Brie, who nervously looked at Eva. She climbed down the few steps to get to Nikki. She picked her up, but before she could do anything, Brie knocked Eva down. She helped her sister up and rolled her back into the ring.

Eva managed to make it back into the ring before the ten count, where Nikki was waiting for her. She picked her up on her shoulders and performed her finisher move. She rolled Eva up for the pin, and this time, Eva didn't kick out.

Nikki clapped and jumped up and down, giving her sister a big smile as she stood beside her. Brie handed her a microphone once she calmed down.

"I know you're back there, Ellie! You might as well come out!" Nikki shouted. "This was just a preview of what's to come next Sunday at Payback."

She waited until Ellie sauntered out to the stage, where she stood with a smug look.

"Someone's anxious to see me," she commented. "Are you that much in a rush for me to beat you, Nikki?"

"Oh no, that's not how it's going to work," Nikki said, glaring. "I'm going to walk into that ring, I'm going to humiliate you by kicking your ass, and I'm going to humiliate you again by winning."

"What, did someone brainwash you or something?" Ellie asked, snickering. She slowly walked towards the ring. "That's not at all how it's going to go.. But, you know what? If you want a glimpse of it, then here."

She dropped the mic and ran into the ring where Nikki retreated. Brie remained in the ring, so Ellie ran towards her, tackling her to the ground. She pounded her head into the mat while Nikki watched on at the top of the stage, still holding her mic.

Ellie then stood up and performed her finisher on Brie. She walked over to the ropes and shouted at Nikki.

"Oh, you're trying to hurt me by hurting my sister?" Nikki asked, rolling her eyes. "She means nothing to me, Ellie. But nice try. Maybe next time you'll actually hit a sore spot."

She smirked and dropped the mic, turning around and walking backstage, knowing all eyes were on her, watching her leave the arena.

Backstage, she waited for Brie while attempting to avoid Ellie. Once she saw her limp backstage, she jogged up to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "That was fake, you shouldn't be limping."

"I'm okay," Brie reassured. "She must've forgotten that pounding my head in is fake. But, that's okay. We all make mistakes, right?"

She walked past Nikki, who's blood was boiling. That was no mistake. She knows Ellie hates Brie and herself. She was through with this new Diva who thinks she's top dog. She doesn't mess with the Bella's. No one does.

Plan Destroy Ellie was officially in action.

* * *

><p>Paige took long strides in the halls. She hasn't seen Emma since they arrived together, and she wanted to congratulate her on her win against Summer Rae. She also wanted to talk to her about Seth.<p>

She turned a corner and stopped dead in her tracks, her head cocking to the side. Emma was talking to Ellie, laughing and smiling at something she said. That was odd, she always thought Emma hated Ellie.

Well, she assumed she did. Because who _did_ like Ellie?

"Emma, hey," Paige greeted, walking up to them. Her eyes avoided the death glare she was receiving from Ellie.

"Hey Paige," she said. "What's up?"

"I just, uh." She ran a hand through her long, black hair. She felt so uncomfortable next to Ellie. "Just wanted to say congrats on winning your match. I watched it, and it was really good. I'm proud of you, you did good."

"That's actually what we were just talking about," Emma said, gesturing to Ellie, who wore a smirk. "But thanks."

"So, how are things between you and Seth?" Ellie asked.

"Never been better," Paige replied, narrowing her eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," she replied, lightly shrugging. "He seemed so disappointed on Monday when we were talking about you."

"You guys talked about me?"

"Oh, yeah. Mostly nice things," she said. "I get the feeling Seth didn't tell you about it?"

Paige shrugged. "No, but if he didn't tell me, then it's clearly not worth knowing."

Ellie didn't take the hint and continued clawing at Paige where she knew it would hurt the most.

"Thanks to me, you two are together now," she said, smiling.

"How the hell did you help us in any way?" Paige demanded, raising her eyebrows.

"I talked him through his problems, helped him see that you're good enough for him," she responded. "For now, at least. I mean, no offense, but he _is_ Seth Rollins. He can get whoever he wants. But, I guess he sees something in you. Can't imagine what."

"Not everything is about looks, Ellie," Paige remarked, folding her arms over her chest.

She snorted. "Obviously."

Paige's eyes narrowed even more, but she remained silent. She wouldn't give her the satisfaction of arguing with her. Instead, she turned her attention back on Emma, who didn't even seem to notice Ellie's constant insults.

"Are you ready to go back to our hotel?" Paige asked. She was ready to just leave Ellie.

"Oh," she said, flickering her eyes to Ellie. "Actually, I'm sharing a room with Ellie this week. I figured you'd be sharing one with Seth."

Paige's face fell. Now she was being replaced?

Unbelievable.

"That's fine," she dismissed, playing it cool. "I'll just go find Seth. Have fun with.. Ellie."

She gave them a smile and walked away, knowing damn well Ellie was probably going off about her. First she wants Seth, and now Emma? What's next?

She stopped in front of the men's locker room door. She wasn't sure if she should knock, or just barge on in, so she just waited for Seth to come out. After what seemed like forever, he finally did.

"Paige," he said, his eyes lighting up. He set his bag down and pulled her in for a hug. "What's wrong?"

She chuckled. He could always sense when something was bringing her down.

"Nothing," she said, pulling away. "You don't mind me staying with you tonight, do you?"

"I don't mind," he said as he pulled his bag up. He offered to take hers, but she shook her head. "What's wrong with Emma?"

"She just decided to stay with Ellie instead."

"Ellie?"

"Yes, her. I can't believe they're even friends," Paige said. "Oh, we're you talking about me with Ellie on Monday?"

"What? No," he quickly said. "She was just trying to hit on me as usual. But what can I say? I'm an extremely attractive man."

Paige laughed. "Sure you are."

He smiled. "Don't worry about Emma and Ellie. I'm sure it's nothing. Emma's probably just trying to give you space or something."

"Yeah, probably." Hopefully.

The two arrived back at the hotel in no time. Paige slumped down onto the bed and sighed, staring up at the ceiling.

She knew she was probably overreacting, because she highly doubts Emma was trying to replace her. But she also doesn't want her to fall in with Ellie. She knows she's bad news, and she just wants to look out for Emma, because that's what friends do.

It bothered her even more that Ellie was flirting with Seth. Doesn't she know what is and isn't hers? Because Seth definitely isn't hers.

"Paige? Are you sure you're okay?"

"No," she said, shoving her face into the pillow.

Seth crossed over to the bed and sat next to her, rubbing small circles on her back to try and calm her down.

It didn't work.

"Don't stress yourself out on this," he reassured. "Everything will be fine, just like you promised me. Remember?"

Of course she remembered. She remembered the words she told Seth only a day or two ago.

The question is, does she believe herself?

* * *

><p>"You wanted to talk?" Stephanie asked, closing the door behind the Diva.<p>

"Yeah. Sorry for keeping you from leaving, but I need.. Permission."

Stephanie sighed and ran a hand down her face. "This can't be good. What is it?"

"I won't go into the details, I'll spare you the time," she said, sitting down on the chair. "Let me ask you a question, though. Lets say, theoretically, a Diva gets injured and have to leave work for a few months."

"Okay," Stephanie said, sitting in her chair across from her. "Continue."

"First, what are the chances she'll even be able to come back?"

"The chances would be good.. Divas get injured a lot, and we can't fire them because of that," Stephanie said. "We are only human, after all. I can't hold that against you."

"What if it's a more.. Serious injury, that requires a lot more time off?"

"It would depend on what Diva, what the injury_ is_-" Steph stopped midsentence. "Why are you asking me this?"

She shrugged, wondering why it was so easy for her to lie and why that didn't seem to bother her. "No reason. I have a very young family member who wants to be a WWE Diva when she becomes of age, but she's too afraid of getting injured and fired. So I wanted to ask you and tell her."

"Oh, well, we're always looking for new and aspiring Divas," Stephanie stated. "What do you need permission for?"

She couldn't help the tiny smirk that appeared on her face. She has all the information she needs. Except, she still has one question.

"Follow up question, what happens if a Diva gets another Diva injured?"

"Well, if it was an accident, then," Stephanie shrugged. "Accidents happen. We can't prevent them in this line of work. But, if a Diva fully intended on injuring another Diva, then clearly there would be consequences."

"What kind of consequences?"

Stephanie gave her a weird look. "Depending on the injury, either being fired or having to take some unpaid time off."

She nodded, absorbing the useful appreciation that would definitely come in handy in the future.

"So, back to the permission," Stephanie said. "What is it?"

"I have this idea for a feud, and I wanted to know if it was okay," she responded.

Stephanie sighed, glancing at the clock that read midnight. It was getting late.

"We'll discuss the feud on Raw, in a few days. I'm too tired and stressed out right now," Stephanie said. "Alright?"

She nodded. "That's fine. I can wait a few days. Thank you for your time, Steph."

Stephanie smiled, watching the Diva stand up and make her way out of the room.

"Have a nice night, Brie."


	16. Chapter 16

"Did you talk to her about it?" Nikki asked, jumping up from the hotel bed once she heard the door open.

"Yes, I did do your dirty work," Brie replied with an eye roll.

"And?"

She quickly filled her in on everything Stephanie told her.

"Wow, I'm surprised you got her to tell you all of that without her getting suspicious," Nikki said, raising her eyebrows. "I'm impressed."

"She sounded a bit suspicious," she informed her. "I tried to lie and tell her about a little girl I know in my family who was curious, but I'm not too sure if she believed me."

"She won't suspect us of anything," Nikki said. "Everything's going according to my plan."

"Yeah, so where does this leave us?"

"This doesn't leave _us_ anywhere," Nikki said. "I'll do all the rest, you just stay out of it."

"Nikki-"

"I_ said_ I can handle the rest, Brie."

Her eyes narrowed. "No, I'm not letting you do all this on your own. If we're going to get rid of Ellie once and for all, then I want to help."

"Why? Why are you so keen on helping?" Nikki asked. "I can handle this on my own."

"Because," Brie said. "I don't want to see you get hurt."

Nikki smiled. "I'm not going to get hurt, Brie. But thanks for the unnecessary concern."

"Quit being stubborn and just let me help."

"Quit being bossy and pushy."

Brie sighed. "Why do you have to be so difficult?"

"I don't know," she said, shrugging. "I like to think it's part of my charm."

She laughed. "Whatever. So, since I won't be helping you with this little_ plan_, can you at least fill me in on the details?"

Nikki took in a deep breath. "Well, I was thinking it would all start at Payback next week, when I face her."

"Wait," Brie said, crossing over to their mini fridge. "I think this calls for some wine."

She grinned. "And _that_ kind of thinking right there is part of your charm."

* * *

><p>Paige pushed open the doors to the hotel gym, squeezing the water bottle in her hand. She was hoping she would find Emma- alone- so she could talk to her.<p>

She did find Emma, running on the treadmill. But, her luck ran out after that, because Ellie was on the treadmill beside her. A sigh escaped the British Divas lips as she wondered how she would approach Emma with Ellie being right there.

She turned her body around to just leave the gym when she ran into the person she came with, the person she forgot was telling her not to go talk to Emma just yet.

"Come on, Paige," Seth encouraged. "Lets just go work out together and forget those two."

She frowned. She didn't _want_ to forget about Emma being here.

"Okay."

He took her hand and walked to the other side of the gym, where all the weights were. He pulled his shirt off and began lifting them. Paige just sat there and glared in Ellie's direction until she decided to lift some weights as well. She kept her eye on the two, watching as they laughed and talked.

"Paige, what're you staring at?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing."

Seth sighed and set his weighs down. He sat up and turned towards Paige.

"Do you want to talk about this?"

"About what?"

"Emma. Ellie. I don't know," he said. "But you being sad is making me sad."

"I'm sorry, I promise I'll cheer up," she said, leaning over and pecking him on the lips.

"That's better," he said, smiling. She returned the smile and began lifting weights.

So for the remainder of their workout, she kept her promise and acted cheerful and happy. She kept her eye on the two, who were_ still_ running. She decided now was her chance when she saw Ellie get up and leave.

"I'll be right back," Paige said, setting her weights down and standing up. "I need to go talk to Emma."

"Okay, try not to get into any fights."

She smiled and ruffled his hair, then crossed over to Emma. She got onto the treadmill beside her and started to walk on it.

"Hey, Emma," she casually greeted.

"Hi," she said, smiling.

"How was rooming with Ellie?"

"It was fun," Emma replied. "We stayed up late watching movies and eating popcorn we bought. We had a blast!"

Paige frowned. She didn't want to hear that.

"Oh, but it would've been better if you were there with us," Emma reassured.

"I'm sure," she mumbled. "Emma, why are you even hanging out with Ellie? You do hate her, don't you?"

"I did," she corrected. "But then I noticed how no one was even giving her a chance, everyone was just hating her for no reason. So I talked to her, and I realized she's not a bad person like everyone thinks she is. She's actually really fun."

"There's clearly a reason people hate her," Paige muttered. "Don't you remember, her hitting on Seth? I told you about that, right?"

"Yeah, but she can't help it if she likes someone," Emma said, shrugging. "It's not like she's going to come in between you and Seth. Besides, she probably didn't even know he liked you."

"She does now, yet she still continues to flirt."

A frown replaced Emma's smile. "Why are you hating so much on Ellie? Just give her a chance, like I did. She's not a bad person."

"Why are _you_ being so open and nice to her?"

"Because she's my friend?"

"You're not replacing me, are you?"

Emma laughed. "Is this what it's all about? I'm not going to replace you, Paige. That's nonsense.. I am, though, a bit mad that your dishing out so many insults to Ellie. It's not necessary."

"I'm just looking out for you."

"I'm a big girl, I can choose my own friends."

"Well, you're not very good at choosing," she muttered. But this time, Emma heard her.

"Why are you so bent on me being friends with her? Is it just because you're so insecure about me replacing you?"

Paige narrowed her eyes. "I'm_ not_ insecure, Emma."

"Well, you kind of sound like you are right now."

"Excuse me for looking out for you," she said. "I don't want to see you get stomped on by her, she's just using you."

"She's not using me! God, Paige, did you ever stop to think Ellie likes me as a friend? Not everyone has to be using other people. That's only _your_ friends."

Emma stopped the treadmill and got off of it.

"Whenever you fix this issue you have with Ellie, you can come talk to me again," she spat. "Because I won't stand for your hatred."

She turned around and left the gym, leaving Paige alone and confused. Did she just lose her best friend?

Over_ Ellie_?

* * *

><p>"AJ," Dean started. "Would you come here?"<p>

"Yeah, give me a minute!" she shouted from inside the bathroom. A couple minutes later she walked out, with wet hair laying on her shoulder. She wore a black shirt, along with a leather jacket Dean bought her, and skinny jeans.

"What's going on?" she asked, plopping down on the bed next to him.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"Okay," AJ said, furrowing her eyebrows. "What is it?"

"I want you and I to buy a house together."

AJ widened her eyes. "What? Really?"

"You don't want to?"

"No, of course I do!" she said, throwing her arms around his neck. "I would love to get a house with you!"

He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I was hoping you'd say that."

She pulled away and looked him in the eye. "Where should we buy one? Maybe down south where it's warm, like California. But I might miss the snow, so maybe somewhere up north. But not too north, because like I said, I'd prefer it to be down south a bit. Maybe North Carolina? No, wait. I don't like that state. Maybe.. No, that's too hot.. Where do you want to live?"

Dean chuckled. "You can decide, cupcake."

"That's too much pressure."

"Well, I don't really care where we live, as long as I'm with you."

"Awe," AJ cooed, placing a hand over her heart. "Who knew Mr. Dean Ambrose was so mushy?"

He rolled his eyes. "Only you, so you better not tell."

"I promise I won't," she said, winking. "What about living in Florida?"

"Sounds perfect."

"You're being oddly sweet today," AJ noted. "What's with that?"

"What, I'm not allowed to be sweet to my girl now?"

"I never said that," she spoke. She glanced down at her phone, which was vibrating. "Oh.. I gotta head out to my dinner now."

"Dinner? Without me?"

"Yeah," she said with an eye roll. "Stephanie's all mad about the tension in the Divas locker room, so she's arranged for us to go out to dinner together."

"That sounds like trouble," Dean said.

"Yeah. All the Divas. All under the same roof, at the same table. It can't be good."

"You know, it wouldn't hurt you to make a friend or two," he suggested. "It's not healthy hating so many people."

"I don't hate them. They hate me because they know I'm better than them."

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Here we go."

"I'm just saying," she said, shrugging. She stood up and gave him a quick kiss. "I'll be back later on. See ya."

"Be careful. Don't make too many Divas mad tonight."

She stopped at the door and turned her head, giving him a smirk.

"No promises," she said, winking. She turned back around and left the hotel. Dean shook his head and scooted back, leaning against the head frame and turning the TV on.

If he knows anything about the Divas, then he knows exactly what was going to happen at this _dinner_, and it wasn't anything good. Forcing the Divas to be civil in a restaurant only spells chaos.

And he knows AJ fights chaos with_ more _chaos.


	17. Chapter 17

**Oh man, I hope you're all ready for this drama. A bit of language in this chapter, mostly from Paige. A bit from Ellie. You've been warned.**

* * *

><p>When AJ arrived at the restaurant, she was expecting no one to be there. She was <em>hoping<em> no one would be there, that everyone would just shrug Stephanie's orders off. But she was wrong.

Opening the door, she instantly spotted the Divas sitting at a large table. There were few seats left, and it seemed like she was the last Diva to get there. So she was forced to sit near the edge, next to an empty seat and Nikki.

Of course.

But her luck got worse. Just as she sat down next to the Bella, Paige came in and stopped at the entrance, just as AJ had. The only empty seat was next to AJ.

AJ was now forced to sit between Nikki and Paige. The dinner hadn't even started and it was already terrible.

"AJ," Paige greeted. Unlike Nikki, she had manners and actually greeted her.

"Paige. You look.. Nice."

"Save the small talk," she said. "I'm not in the mood."

_Okay then_, AJ thought. _What a great start to a_ great_ night. _

"I think this is everyone," Natalya said, her eyes flickering to every Diva.

"What a small Division we have," Naomi said, shaking her head.

"But a strong Division," Summer reminded. "With me in it and all."

AJ rolled her eyes, resting her head in the palm of her hand. Her month was soon over and she didn't get the brutal headaches anymore. But, she still a week or so left until she was cleared. She couldn't wait to be back in that ring, wrestling.

She couldn't help but notice Paige glaring at Emma and Ellie, who sat right across from her. She wondered what they did to piss the British Diva off.

The waiter came by and handed each of them a menu, then asked everyone what drink they would be having.

AJ and Paige were the only ones who didn't settle on wine.

"Hey, Brie," Nikki said in a low voice. "Check out Ellie over there with her new friend."

"Emma?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding. "It's so obvious Ellie's just using her."

"I hate to agree with you, but yeah. New Divas always do this."

"And it always fails," Nikki said. "Clearly something's wrong when you can't rely on talent to become successful."

"I know."

"Hey! What are you two whispering about over there?" Cameron asked.

"Just our men," Nikki said with a wink.

That sparked the conversation. Almost every Diva at once began chatting away about their love life. Everyone was too busy talking to listen.

Suddenly everyone stopped talking at once and turned their heads in unison to a quiet AJ and Paige.

"What?" Paige asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You two are being extremely quiet," Natalya noticed.

"Yeah, tell us all about the two Shield members," Summer said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Paige and AJ shared a look, before AJ said, "What about him?"

"I don't know," she shrugged.

"We're all talking, and you two aren't. It's making me uncomfortable," Cameron said.

Paige snorted, mumbling, "You think you're uncomfortable?"

"So how is he?" Summer asked, leaning her head in closer to AJ. She was digging for as much dirt she could get. "I always wondered."

AJ narrowed her eyes. "Well, you're going to keep wondering, because I'm not spilling."

"Oh, so you_ don't_ kiss and tell," Eva said. "Smart."

"What about you, Paige?" Ellie asked, smirking and tilting her head. "How's Seth?"

"You'd like to know, wouldn't you?" Paige retorted, her eyes narrowing. "Give it up, Ellie."

"Give what up?" she asked innocently.

"Give this act up and leave Seth and I alone," she warned. "Don't cross the line, Ellie. You're already dangerously close."

"Leave her be," Emma said, much to Paige's dismay. "She didn't do anything to do, so butt off."

Paige closed her eyes and wished she was anywhere but there, anywhere but sitting in front of Ellie and Emma. Anywhere.

But, when she opened her eyes, she was in the same place. Damn.

"We came here to avoid drama," Nikki said, glaring at Ellie. "So shut it."

"We came here against our_ will_," Ellie said. "You all can hate me all you want, but it doesn't phase me one bit. You're just wasting your energy hating someone you know is better than you."

This got AJ's attention. She dropped her fork and moved her eyes up to Ellie.

"Tell me, Ellie, when you've been a Diva for what, two months? How the hell could you be the best?"

Ellie opened her mouth but AJ interrupted her.

"I'll tell you how. You're not. Open your damn eyes and face reality. You're not the best, and you never will be. You don't work your ass of day in and day out, you don't dedicate everything and anything to this, you don't do shit. The only thing you do is run your mouth, spouting lies to anyone who will listen. You don't live in a damn fantasy world, Ellie. Face the facts, the truth. You're not the best, because you don't do anything to make you the best. So don't go around and say you are. I'm sick of you pretending to be something you aren't."

Everyone was silent after that.

"Damn, a little harsh," Cameron muttered. A few of the other Divas nodded in agreement.

Ellie's eyes remained on AJ's as she ignored the mutters coming from the Divas around her.

"You know what, AJ?" she said. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm not the best yet. But you aren't either._ You're_ the one living in a fantasy world. And it's truly pathetic how you feel threatened by everyone, even me. Threatened that other Divas could be better than you if they were given the chance to. You hold on to that title like it's the only proof you have to prove to the world you are the best. And that's pathetic, AJ._ Pathetic_."

AJ could feel her blood boiling. She opened her mouth to argue, but someone else beat her to it.

Paige.

"Fuck you, Ellie!" Paige shouted. "I'm so fucking sick of your face right now! I'm sick of the fucking drama and your desperation for attention, I'm sick of you feeling the need to flirt with guys who don't fucking want you, I'm sick of it all! I'm just fucking sick of how you think you get to the top of this fucking ladder! I'm just sick of fucking looking at you, Ellie! I'm sick and fucking disgusted!"

"Paige, maybe you should calm down," Brie softly suggested.

She whipped her head to the side, away from her view of Ellie.

"Don't tell me to calm down," she growled.

"You're kind of causing a scene," Alicia said, her eyes flickering to the other customers nervously glancing at their table. "Just cool it."

"I'm don't need to cool it!" she shouted, slamming her fist down on the table. A few of the near by glasses shook. "I'll fucking cool it when Ellie learns to quit being a bitch!"

"Why don't you show me how!" Ellie shouted back.

"That's it!" Paige said, throwing her arms in the air. "I'm done. I'm leaving before I get myself arrested for beating the shit out of you."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a fifty, tossing it onto the table. All eyes were on her as she stood up and began leaving, only to stop when she heard Ellie.

"Totally expected this," Ellie said loudly. "You tend to run from things. First, Seth. Now this? What's next, Paige? Running from the Divas Division?"

Paige clenched her fists and turned around, her face turning hot.

"Then again," Ellie started, smirking, "We might be better off without you."

Paige let out a scream before running onto Ellie and tackling her. They fell off the chair as Paige threw punches down on Ellie.

"Ladies, enough!" Natalya shouted.

Naomi and Alicia tried to pry Paige off of Ellie, eventually managing to do so. As they lifted Paige up, though, Ellie slapped Paige, making her wriggle out of the grasp and jump back onto Ellie.

"A little help!" Naomi shouted as the customers all watched on in fear. Waiters ran to get security and Nikki moved over to help. She helped them pull Paige off of her.

"You bitch!" Paige fumed. "You don't know when to keep your damn mouth shut!"

"I could say the same!" Ellie shouted back.

"Enough!" Nikki shouted, standing between the two. "You two are going to shut your mouth, sit the hell back down, and mind you own damn business. _I_ came here to have a nice dinner, and I'll be damned if I don't get one!"

Ellie folded her arms over her chest, letting out a huff. Paige eyes remained on Ellie's as she as she sat back down. The waiter awkwardly approached the table with their food after reassuring the security guards everything had cooled down.

"Glad this wasn't here a few minutes ago," Cameron muttered. "That'd of been bad."

"Agreed," Natalya said. Everyone began eating in silence. "Isn't this nice? We're all eating like the mature, civil Divas we are."

"Or at least should be," Brie said.

"Mature?" Paige muttered to herself.

"Civil?" Ellie muttered to herself.

Both heard each other and raised their faces, glaring at one another.

"Hey! You two," Nikki growled, pointing her knife in their direction. "Cool it. I'm holding a sharp knife."

AJ was glad no one caught her glaring at Ellie. She was still pissed about her for everything she did. Sure, she may not be stealing her man and her friends- not that she has any- but she is trying to steal something else.

The Divas Championship.

* * *

><p>Everyone finished their meal and the Divas shuffled out of the restaurant.<p>

"I'm glad Stephanie arranged for this dinner," Natalya said. "It was nice."

"Are you kidding me? She is going to flip once she hears about this," Eva said.

Summer dismissed the thought. "Nah, she'll be cool about it."

Paige and AJ waited for a taxi as all the other Divas filled up two cars they brought over together.

"Apparently I didn't get the memo we were to share cars," AJ muttered. "As always."

"You're not the only one," Paige said, releasing a sigh. "Tonight was a wreck. God, I can't believe I let her get under my skin."

AJ frowned. "Yeah, I'm kind of surprised about that too."

Paige didn't lift her eyes from the cracks in the pavement. She didn't want to be here, talking to AJ about this. But who else did she have to talk to it about?

Seth wouldn't understand.

But AJ would.

"Things have been so.. rocky for me lately," Paige said. "And I don't know why. I'm just a mess."

AJ chuckled. "I can relate to that, because you're not the only one who is."

She stayed quiet, sucking in her bottom lip. "Why are we so good at making enemies but not friends?"

AJ glanced down at her shoes. "I don't know."

Paige sighed, running a hand down her face. "Stephanie is going to flip out once she hears_ I_ flipped out on Ellie."

"You won't be the only one getting in trouble, I flipped out on her too," AJ said.

"At least you didn't beat her up in public."

"This isn't a competition."

Paige laughed. "I'd definitely try to win that competition."

AJ joined her laughter. "Me too."

"We'll just have to suffer together," Paige said.

"We can plot Ellie's death together," AJ reassured.

She chuckled. "Again? I thought we'd stop after Nikki."

AJ rolled her eyes as two taxis pulled up to the curb. They exchanged quiet goodbyes and got into their own taxi.

If only they knew how right they were, that soon enough they would be plotting Ellie's death together.

Of course, with the help of a fellow Diva who is also desperately seeking revenge.


	18. Chapter 18

**I'm so glad AJ won Diva of the Year! She has worked her butt off! But don't take this the wrong way, the rest of the Divas have also worked their butts off. So yay for all the Divas!**

**And I wasn't expecting Roman Reigns to win Superstar of the Year. I was rooting for Dean or Seth, but I'm glad he won too. I'm also glad Brock didn't win. I'm still mad at him for breaking the streak.**

**Anyhoo, enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"How'd it go?" Seth asked, the TV flickering off. He hopped off the bed and crossed to the hotel door, taking Paige's hands. "Please tell me you didn't do anything..."<p>

"Bad? _Naughty_?" she finished.

He nodded. "Yeah, basically."

"Not really," Paige said, moving past him and walking farther into the room. She slipped her jacket off and tossed it aside. "Had some good food, some water, saw Emma, yelled at Ellie, tackled her in front of everyone, called her a bitch in front of everyone.. Shall I go on?"

"Paige," Seth said, sighing. "Was all that necessary?"

She shrugged, sitting down on the bed and removing her boots. "Probably not."

He sighed again and sat down next to her.

"What am I going to do with you?" he asked, shaking his head.

A grin crept its way onto her lips. "I have an idea.."

He grinned as well, his tongue poking out of his mouth. He leaned in closer but froze as a knock came from the door. He let out a frustrated sigh and stood from the bed, crossing over to the door.

"Yeah?" he asked, opening the door without bothering to see who it is.

"Hey, Seth. Paige here?"

Seth nervously glanced behind him. "Uh, she actually didn't come back yet."

Paige hopped off the bed and peaked over at Seth. She could make out the small body that stood before him.

"Emma," Paige flatly greeted, moving to stand beside Seth. "What a pleasant surprise."

"I know you don't mean that right now," Emma said, her eyes drooping to the floor. "Unless pleasant is code for something else, like terrible. Then yeah, you would probably mean it."

Paige rolled her eyes and jerked her chin at Seth. He took the hint and disappeared inside the hotel room. Paige moved forward and closed the door behind her.

"Lets skip the small talk. Why are you here?"

Emma sighed. "I didn't like how we left things off. I still want to be friends with you, Paige, I do. You have been my friend for a long time and have stuck by me, even when I was a hot mess. I can't lose that, I don't want to."

"What about Ellie?" Paige asked. "She can't handle your hot mess?"

"No- wait, yes.. No, I don't know. But I do know that we can still be friends."

Paige choked out a laugh. "Oh, we can now?"

"Yes," Emma said, nodding. "Quit acting like a child, Paige. We can be friends again and act as if none of this ever happened."

"We can't just wave a magic wand and pretend things are back to normal again," Paige said, narrowing her eyes. "It doesn't work that way."

"Okay, then I'm sorry. I'm sorry I overreacted," Emma said. "Because, I realized at the dinner, it's okay to hate people. But it's not okay to be rude and ignorant. I'll forgive you for lashing out, too. Because we're human. We make mistakes."

"I never apologized-"

"Don't ruin the moment," Emma spoke. "But I'll only be your friend again on one condition."

"And what's that?"

"I don't give a flying duck if you hate Ellie. Just.. don't be disrespectful around her, when I'm with her?" Emma asked. "Like it or not, I'm still going to be her friend. I just hope you can oversee that and be my friend too."

Paige looked intently at the blonde. She really did miss her, but she didn't like the thought of hanging out with Ellie. And she didn't like how defensive Emma was over Ellie. What kind of tricks was she pulling to get Emma to like her?

"I guess you're off the hook," Paige said, cracking a smile. She opened her arms out. "Come here."

The two hugged. Paige patted her on the back as she pulled away. Emma gave her one last smile before walking off to her own room. Paige watched after her with a sly smile.

This was the perfect way to reach Ellie.

* * *

><p>"So, I take it the dinner didn't go so well?" Dean questioned as soon as AJ stormed into the room. "What'd you do? Bite Ellie's head off?"<p>

AJ narrowed her eyes. "No, Paige beat me to it. I'm proud of her for tackling Ellie over and hurting her, but I also wish I could've done it. Stupid concussion."

Dean faintly laughed at her pouting. "What made Paige flip?"

"Ellie was just being Ellie," AJ replied, shrugging. "Kind of self explanatory."

He rolled his eyes. "If you say so."

She began changing into her clothes for the night when something caught Dean's attention.

"Wait.. Did you say you were proud of Paige?"

Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Did I?"

Dean grinned. "You did. You're forgiving her, aren't you?"

She shrugged. "I'm not really mad anymore, you know. Past news. But I don't like her."

"But you don't hate her," he slowly said.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't."

"You so don't."

"I don't see why this is a big issue," AJ said.

"You're forgiving her, and before you know it, you two will be friends."

"We're well past the point of being friends."

Now he shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to try, now would it?"

"I don't know, it kind of hurt last time."

He rolled his eyes. "Why are you so stubborn?"

"I am not stubborn."

"That's something a stubborn person would say," he pointed out. "So, since you're forgiving Paige, are you forgiving Nikki too?"

She scoffed. "No. I don't like her."

"I saw you talk to her that one day."

"I can talk to people I hate."

"I think you're forgiving Nikki too," Dean said, grinning. "Look who's growing soft now?"

She ignored him and turned the light out, sliding into bed next to him. She didn't want to continue the conversation, because she already knew he was right. She was forgiving Paige and Nikki.

Forgiving them may not change the past, but it'll definitely change the future.

* * *

><p>A couple days later, it was Monday. All the Divas arrived at the arena early to attend a mandatory meeting, already knowing what is was going to be about.<p>

The meeting was held right next to the ring, since they were too many Divas to just put in her office. Stephanie paced on the stage, holding her hands behind her back.

"I want you all to take a good look at the woman near you," Stephanie ordered. The Divas all nervously glanced at one another, some covering smiles. "And tell me, what do you see?"

"Divas," Natalya answered.

"That's correct._ Divas_. And what does it mean to act like a Diva?"

"It means we act like ladies," Summer replied. "We act like classy, mature ladies."

Stephanie nodded. "And did you act like a WWE Diva when attending dinner?"

Everyone shook their head.

"I'm not going to keep treating you like babies," Stephanie started, "because it's quite pointless. You all should know how to act in public, you should know not to start _fights_ in public. You're lucky no one caught this on camera."

"So, we're off the hook?" Cameron asked.

She shook her head. "I never said that. I said I'm not going to lecture you. I do want to know who started this fight."

"Verbally or psychically?" Naomi asked.

"Whichever came first," Stephanie said.

"Ellie," three Divas said at once. AJ, Paige, and Nikki.

Ellie swiveled her head to glare at the trio.

"How did I start this?" she demanded. "It was Paige who attacked me."

"You started it by opening your mouth," Nikki replied, glaring.

"Alright, enough," Stephanie said, shaking her head. "You're all mature adults, so start acting like one. If anything like this happens- and I don't care _where_, be it a public place or the locker room- there _will_ be consequences. You're all dismissed."

She filed out, followed by a few Divas. Some lingered back.

"So we're not in trouble?" Paige asked. "Thank god."

"Even though you deserve to be," Ellie muttered, walking past them.

"What a bitch," Paige said.

"I know," AJ agreed. "Someone needs to take her out or something."

"Don't worry," Nikki started with a grin. "I'm already working on that."

"Good. If someone has to, I'm glad it's you," AJ said.

"I don't know, AJ. You're a decent mastermind," Paige joked, reaching up and adjusting her jacket.

"I just want her fired. So bad," AJ said, shaking her head. "What I would give for it to happen."

"She's only going to bring trouble to this Division," Nikki said.

"The Division I saved," AJ muttered.

"Why did they even hire her?" Paige asked. "She's not even that talented."

"Actually, she kind of is," AJ said. "She's getting better in the ring, which only makes me hate her even more."

"You know what I realized?" Nikki wondered. "Us three, would make an invincible team."

"Yeah," Paige agreed, snorting. "That's kind of scary."

"It's true, though. Our brains combined would make the evilest, most brilliant plan to take Ellie out," AJ said. "But, too bad we all hate each other."

With that she walked backstage. The two followed her and went their separate ways to get ready for Raw.

The thought of all three of them joining forces and working together lingered in the back of their minds all throughout the night.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm not taking this story too slow, am I? Do I need to speed things up, or kick it up a notch? Please leave a review and tell me! Thank you!<strong>


	19. Chapter 19

**How would you guys like to see another Diva return and wrestle AJ? Leave a review and tell me who!**

* * *

><p>The week flew by and before they knew it, it was Sunday. The day many wrestlers were anticipating, and the day other wrestlers may be dreading.<p>

Payback.

Dean and Bray were scheduled to have a match. AJ was still in the love storyline with Dean, but she was officially cleared earlier on in the day, so she wasn't entirely sure how long they would keep it up. She knew with what was to come tonight, most likely another month or so.

"So, it's safe for me to wrestle now?" she excitedly asked the doctor.

"Yes," he said, chuckling. "You are now permitted to wrestle. Just.. Take it easy for a few days."

"Yay!" AJ squealed, jumped up and into Dean's arms, totally ignoring the doc's words.

"Who there, take it easy. You just got cleared," Dean said, smiling. "I didn't think you missed wrestling this much."

"Of course I have! I am the champion," she pointed out, releasing her tight grip on his shoulders. "I'll go tell Steph."

She left the room and skipped down the halls towards Stephanie. Without noticing, she passed Brie and Nikki Bella, who were arguing about their match later on tonight. Nikki was scheduled to wrestle against Ellie, and tonight was also the night her plan would go into action.

"I'm telling you, Nikki, this isn't a smart idea," Brie said, hoping she would convince her sister at last minute not to go with her plan. "It's a reckless, stupid idea."

Nikki, frustrated with her sister, turned around and glared.

"Anything else you want to add to that pile of insults, Brie?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "I know what I'm doing, and you're not going to convince me to do otherwise."

She raised up her arms. "Fine, but when the shit storm starts, don't come looking for me."

Nikki rolled her eyes. "You're blowing everything out of proportion, as you always do."

"It's called looking out for you, Nikki."

"No, it's called being overly worried. Now enough. We're here to kick some ass, right?"

Brie smiled, pumping up her fist. "Right."

"That wasn't very enthusiastic."

"I'm sorry," Brie apologized, rolling her eyes.

Nikki glanced down at her phone. "We're going to be on in a couple hours."

"Are you ready?"

"This is Nikki Bella you're talking to," she replied, smirking. "Of course I'm ready. Are you?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Good," Nikki said. "Now, lets go over the plan one more time."

* * *

><p>"I have some good news," AJ said, standing in front of Stephanie's desk. "The doc cleared me."<p>

"Really?" Stephanie asked, standing up. "I thought you had a week left."

she shrugged. "Turns out it healed faster."

"This is great news," Stephanie said. "We might be able to put you in a match tonight after all. I was going to bring in a Diva for a one time thing, as I did with Kharma, and have her do a promo of some sort. We haven't worked out the details, but I think if I pull a few strings, we'll be able to squeeze you in."

"That's amazing," AJ said, the ecstatic smile not once leaving her face. "I'm glad I'll be wrestling tonight after all!"

"Maybe," Stephanie corrected. "I'll see what I can do."

AJ thanked her and left the office, towards the locker room to tell her friends. But then she stopped, suddenly remembering she didn't _have_ any.

For some reason, she thought Paige was her friend. She was just so used to it from about half a year ago, when she did have a friend. Well, pretend friend.

Not much of a difference.

Maybe things would be better off if she wasn't friends with her ever. No drama, no catfights, no nothing. Just peace. Exactly how she likes it. Total and utter peace, with no one to fight with.

But then again, it all leads back to one issue: Ellie. She's tearing everything apart, piece by piece. AJ knows she can do it, too. She knows she is a strong girl. That's what she hates the most about Ellie. Her determination to never give up, constantly fighting for her purpose, be it good or bad.

It reminded her of herself.

AJ knows Ellie will never be comparable to herself, though. As much as she tries, she won't conquer as much as AJ had. She'll never reach that point, there's no way it's possible.

She is still the queen, and her reign is far from done. If anything, it's just getting started.

She pushed the door of the locker room open and was greeted with immediate tension in the air. She knew it would be like this, as it has been ever since the dinner a week ago. Everyone was tense and angry, and it was hard not to notice it. It was even harder to pretend it wasn't there and carry on with everything as if it wasn't.

She walked past everyone to her spot, where her bag laid. She unzipped it and rummaged through it for her outfit of the night. Pulling it out, her eyes skimmed it to make sure it was clean.

"You're wrestling? I thought you weren't cleared," Summer said, folding her arms over her chest.

"Turns out I am," AJ said, gripping the clothes and standing, turning to face her. "Is that a problem?"

"No," Summer replied, snickering. "Just that while you were off feuding with _Dean_ or whatever, I've been wrestling each and every week, at Raw and SmackDown and house shows. Now you're suddenly healed and you get to wrestle tonight _just_ like that. Am I the only one who sees this as not fair?"

"You're not the only one," Cameron said, narrowing her eyes.

"Nope," Alicia said, shaking her head. Several other Divas shook their heads.

"I think the whole entire locker room agrees with you, Summer," Natalya said. "For once."

AJ raised her eyebrows, scoffing. "What, now you're all ganging up on me?"

Summer inched closer, tilting her blonde head. "Why, are you scared?"

"Of a blonde bimbo who_ dances_ better than she wrestles?" AJ asked, snickering. "Hell no. There's _nothing_ to be scared of."

"Watch your mouth," Summer warned.

"Or what? You'll issue a dance off or something?"

"You better watch it!" Summer yelled, stepping forward. Naomi crosses over to her and pulled her back.

"Easy there," she said, pulling her away from AJ. "No need to start a fight, not after we just got out of one."

"Too late," Summer said, glaring at AJ before turning on her heels and leaving the locker room.

AJ eyes followed Summer until she was out of the room. Great, another person to watch out for. Can't AJ ever get a break from all this pointless fighting?

Her eyes travelled back to the other Divas, who were staring at her.. Okay, more like glaring.

"What's your deal, anyway?" Layla asked, finally speaking up. "I've worked here a hell of a lot longer than you have, why aren't I getting my fair share at the spotlight?"

"Didn't know Divas complained so much," AJ noted, her eyes narrowing.

"You know, I may be new around here, but I've already picked up a few things from you," Eva said.

"Oh? Like how great I am?"

"No, like what you just said," Eva clarified. "You walk around you, acting like you own the place."

Rosa scoffed. "Guess what? You don't."

Eva continued, "You think you're the mighty one, and we should bow down to you! Newsflash, AJ, the world doesn't revolve around you."

"It never has, and it never will," Cameron said.

"You think you're so great, so tough, so unbeatable?" Natalya asked. "You're not. You think too highly of yourself, AJ. You think no one can possible touch you, or your belt, or your unbeatable reign. Maybe not, but that doesn't mean your the perfect queen here."

"I hope you're getting a sour taste of reality right now, AJ," Cameron said. "Because you sure need it."

AJ arched a brow. "Have any more insults you want to say before I leave and forget you all even exist?"

"Yeah," Natalya said, moving closer. "Remember this. Next time you think your the best Diva ever, know deep down inside, that you _aren't_. There are plenty others who worked harder than you ever have and ever will."

"You're not the best, AJ," Naomi said, speaking up. "You're just a cocky, little girl who likes to brag and exaggerate about her talent."

"Reality check," Cameron said, smirking. "Girl bye."

All the Divas left the locker room leaving AJ all alone. Her gaze drifted down to the floor as she leaned against the wall, falling down until her butt landed on the cold floor. She was grateful Ellie wasn't there. She also noticed Paige wasn't, and for that she was somewhat grateful.

She clearly knows who's against her and who isn't. Though most are against her. Not something she should be proud of.

AJ is someone who enjoyed bragging about her talent and work. She is someone who thinks very highly of herself. She is someone who considers themselves the _best_.

All of that's true, and yet AJ doesn't seem to mind at all. The fact that she doesn't mind doesn't bother her at all either.


	20. Chapter 20

**At the end it reveals who AJ's opponent is. I decided to choose her because, in my opinion, that was one of the Divas that actually stood a fairly large chance at beating AJ. Plus they have a lot of history together. Anyhoo, thanks for all the reviews and support! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Welcome to <em>Payback<em>!"

The crowds cheering and stomping of their feet echoed throughout the ring. The fans couldn't manage to contain their excitement. They were excited for the matches to come later on, but most importantly, they were excited to see who would come out victorious.

"Introducing first, Nikki Bella!"

The crowds cheers died down as boos replaced it. Nikki walked down to the ring in determination. She was ready to carry out her plan, though she had to admit, she was having second thoughts. Did she really want to possibly end someone's career? Has she really changed that much?

She glances at her sister once they are in the ring. She wore the smallest of smirks, so small only Nikki could catch it.

She couldn't let everyone down. She had to go through with the plan, for her sister, but most importantly, for the Divas Division.

Now it's _her_ turn to save it.

The match soon started, and Nikki forced Ellie into the corner rope, where she rammed her knee into her stomach. She wanted to show Ellie she wasn't playing games.

She performed vicious attack after attack to Ellie, hoping she would soon get the message. She knew she wasn't exactly giving her a fair match, but who says life's fair?

"Just a reminder, after tonight, Brie is no longer obligated to listen to Nikki and follow her orders," Michael noted. "I wonder if she's ready for her newly freedom."

"Is Nikki ready?" Jerry joked.

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow," JBL said, shrugging.

Nikki shoved Ellie off of her and elbowed her in the face, knocking her to the ground. She stomped her feet onto her stomach again, hoping she's inflicting enough pain on her.

After a few minutes of Nikki having the upper hand, she was ready.

Ready for Plan Destroy Ellie to be carried out.

She had practiced this submission hold on Brie a week ago when they were wrestling together, so she knows she can do it. She pushed Ellie down onto the mat and performed a similar submission hold to Natalya's Sharp Shooter.

Nikki had a tight grip on Ellie's ankle, slowly twisted it. Ellie didn't notice it yet as she tried to scoot closer to the ropes. Nikki gave it another twist, and Ellie now noticed the soaring pain it gave.

"What the hell are you trying to do, huh?" Ellie shouted behind her. This wasn't in the scripts. This wasn't supposed to_ happen_. "Trying to break my damn ankle?"

Nikki smirked, muttering, "Trying to."

And with one more twist, she heard a faint crack. Ellie felt it break, or so she assumed, so she immediately tapped out, declaring Nikki the winner.

Nikki grabbed a mic and bent down into Ellie's face, laughing at the pain that was written all over it. She's done her job, and she's done it right.

"If payback is a bitch and revenge is sweet, then I must be the sweetest bitch you'll ever meet," Nikki spat out.

* * *

><p>Nikki watched backstage as Ellie was placed onto a stretcher and brought backstage to the doctor. She felt a twinge of guilt for doing what she did, but she ignored it. It's just a broken ankle, it won't end her career.<p>

But it did warn her not to be a bitch anymore.

She just hoped no one thought she did it on purpose. She tried to make it look like an accident, but she was so happy that she couldn't help but smile the whole entire time.

"I can't believe we did that," Brie said quietly. "We're.. Monsters."

"We're not monsters, Brie."

"What makes you say that?" she asked, spinning on her heels to face her. "We could've destroyed her career!"

"Quit being so dramatic, I did what had to be done," Nikki said. "Clearly I was the only one with any guts to do it."

"I just.. Need some time to think," Brie said, shaking her head and walking off in the direction of the locker room.

Nikki stayed where she was, waiting for Stephanie came to retrieve her to discuss what happened, and whether or not it was an accident. She knew it was bound to happen, she just hoped she could convince her enough so that she'll believe she's innocent, even though she's not.

But what's the worst that could happen? It's not like she could fire Nikki over a rookie like Ellie.

At least, she hopes she won't.

Her eyes narrowed slightly when she saw AJ bouncing into the gorilla with Dean right by her side. She wasn't as disgusted or anything as she used to be. Maybe she's just forgiving AJ?

She snorted. Like that could ever happen.

"I can't wait to go and wrestle again," AJ said, sighing happily. "It feels like it's been forever."

"It's been a month," Dean said, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, well you hated not wrestling when you were gone for a month," she said, folding her arms over her chest. "Off doing a movie or whatever. Because that's clearly more important than wrestling."

He smirked. "Someone's feisty tonight, huh?"

AJ rolled her eyes. "Someone's observant tonight, huh?"

Nikki had to admit, they made a good couple. Maybe now things would be more peaceful with Ellie out of the picture for a while. It would bring peace to AJ, Paige, Seth, everyone.

Especially herself.

She could now work in peace, knowing Ellie will be out for a while. She could now focus on the one things that matters most in this company.

The Divas Championship.

* * *

><p>"Emma, what's wrong?" Paige asked, sitting on the bench beside her friend. "You're always so happy and chipper, something's got you down. What is it?"<p>

"Just life," Emma replied. "And stuff."

"Life? Is that key for Ellie?"

Emma raised her eyes. "No, Ellie doesn't cause _me_ trouble."

"Lucky you," Paige muttered.

"If you're going to be like this, then you can leave."

"I just wanted to know if you were okay."

"Well, I am."

Paige arched a brow. "Did you hear about Ellie?"

This caught Emma's attention. Her eyes shot up to meet Paige's.

"What happened to Ellie?"

"She got injured. I'm not sure how serious, I think it's something with her ankle."

Emma's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, I have to go see if she's okay."

She jumped off the bench and hurried out of the room. Paige sighed and got up, following after her.

"Wait up," she called out, jogging up to the rushing blonde. She latched onto her arm, pulling her to a stop. "I _said_ wait!"

"What, Paige?" Emma asked, placing a hand on her hip.

Paige looked into her best friends eyes and wondered what looked so different.

"Nothing, I just.. Wanted to tell you I'm right behind her."

Emma hesitated before offering her a smile. "I'm glad you can put aside your differences with Ellie to come with me. That means a lot."

Paige nodded and the two walked to where they had Ellie. After a few minutes they got there. Ellie was laying on the bed when she looked up at the two.

"Emma, thank god you're here," Ellie breathed out, ignoring Paige. "My.. My ankle, it's sprained."

Emma frowned. "I know, I'm so sorry. Who did this, Nikki?"

Ellie nodded. "That bitch is responsible for this."

Her eyes wandered over to Paige as she finally noticed her.

"Paige, could you get me a glass of water or something?"

Paige narrowed her eyes. She knew Ellie was trying to get her to leave so she could tell Emma something.

But she smiled and nodded, leaving the room. She stood beside the door, out of sight, and listened in.

"Emma, I need you to do something," Ellie said.

"Sure, what?" Emma asked.

"It's Nikki," she replied. "I know she did this to me on purpose. It was no accident, she_ meant_ to break my ankle.. I'm just lucky it's on only a sprain."

"What does Nikki-"

"No," Ellie interrupted, lowering her voice. "I don't know how long I'll be out, but it won't be long. When I come back, I'll need your help."

"With?"

"Getting revenge on Nikki."

* * *

><p>AJ skipped down to the ring halfway through the show. She was ready for her match, she was ready to be back in the ring where she belongs.<p>

Her feet stopped in the middle of the ring as she brought the microphone to her mouth.

"You all probably weren't expecting me to come out, were you?" AJ asked, a slight smirking tugging at her lips. "This just proves exactly that nothing can hold me back, be it an injury or another Diva. I always come back, and I always come back on top."

The crowd full on booed her. She wasn't expecting that reaction, since when did they boo her? Things must have changed in the single month that she didn't wrestle.

"Boo me all you want, it doesn't change a thing. It doesn't change the fact that no one can beat me. I proved not even Kharma can match my inferior skills." She paused, glancing at the stage. "I'm not even going to issue an open challenge. Because you know what would happen if I did?"

She smiled. "Some Diva who thinks she can beat me will parade down to the ring. The ref will start the match, and before you know it, I'll have them tapping out to the Black Widow."

"So I'll spare you the time," AJ said, smirking. "Maybe they'll hire a Diva who actually has a chance of beating me soon."

She skipped around the ring before stopping at the ropes. Before she could bend over them and skip out, a familiar song began playing. Suddenly the fans were on their feet, cheering loudly.

AJ's eyes widened as they glued to the stage. They widened even more as she watched the Diva stop on the stage and raise her hand.

No, it couldn't be. There's no way. It can't be her, it just can't.

_Kaitlyn_.


	21. Chapter 21

AJ looked deep into the eyes of her once best friend. She could honestly say she say she has missed her old friend, but she hasn't missed the spearing Kaitlyn delivered or the pain she got from it afterwards.

Kaitlyn arched a brow, holding up a mic that she was given.

"Missed me, AJ?"

AJ couldn't open her mouth to form a legible response.

"I was backstage, because out of all the days, Stephanie chose this one to invite me back," Kaitlyn began. "And I heard something interesting. You say none of the Divas can match your skills?" She smirked. "Well, I'm up for the challenge."

AJ narrowed her eyes. "I said this isn't an open challenge. I was simply preaching a message."

"So you're saying I came out here for nothing?" Kaitlyn asked, frowning.

"Basically," AJ replied sarcastically. "Why don't you run off to the men's locker room or wherever you prefer, and get out of my ring."

"If that's what you want," Kaitlyn said, nodding. She turned to walk away when she turned back and charged towards AJ to spear her. Luckily the Diva jumped out of the way in time. She scurried back to the corner ropes and stared at Kaitlyn. After a few tense seconds of the two staring at each other, AJ laughed and moved forward.

"You don't intimidate me like you used to, Katie," AJ said, smirking. "You want a fight? Fine. I'll prove how capable I am of destroying someone."

She fake pouted, nodding slowly.

"Right, I forgot," AJ spoke, "Can't break someone you _already_ have."

Kaitlyn narrowed her eyes, holding her hands up, yelling at her to fight her. AJ obeyed and backed up as the ref started the match. Her eyes did a quick scan of Kaitlyn. She's gotten a lot stronger, so it seems. Her muscles are bigger and toned, and she looked great, which only made AJ more nervous. But she already knows her weaknesses, this should be an easy match.

_Should._

AJ charged towards her, jumping into her arms and giving her a tight bear hug. She tilted her head and smiled. Kaitlyn easily tossed her off of her. AJ stumbled back before standing back up, right into a nasty clothesline from Kaitlyn.

She landed on the mat with a loud thud, closing her eyes for a split moment. She missed her friend, sure, but she definitely didn't miss this. Not one bit.

AJ bounced back up and backed up into the ropes. She planted a dropkick on Kaitlyn, knocking her over. She smirked, slowly getting on top of her and throwing her fists at her.

She got off of Kaitlyn and rolled her up for a pin, which she easily kicked out to. She groaned in annoyance.

Before AJ could think to move, Kaitlyn used her bigger build and rammed AJ into the corner rope, where she pounded her shoulder into AJ's midsection. She then turned around and delivered a bulldog.

The crowd was cheering Kaitlyn on, pumping her up even more. She put AJ on her shoulders, but the Diva wiggled free, pushed her towards the ropes. Kaitlyn fell over but got up as soon as it happened, turning around into AJ's Black Widow.

Kaitlyn squeezed her eyes shut and used every ounce of her strength to stand up straight. She ran forward and jumped back, landing right on top of AJ. She pulled her up and put her back on her shoulders, setting her up for her finisher.

This time, AJ didn't break free.

Kaitlyn got down and pinned AJ, who kicked out with a mere millisecond to spare.

"How does someone kick out of that?" Michael asked, astonished.

"How does someone get out of the Black Widow?" JBL retorted.

"They're neck to neck," Jerry said. "It's hard to say who's going to win!"

They continued wrestling for several minutes until AJ was able to get a decent clothesline in. She waited for Kaitlyn to sit up to perform the Shining Wizard.

She pinned Kaitlyn, who didn't kick out.

"Your winner of this match, AJ Lee!"

The crowd booed her as she held up her belt, grinning. She glanced down at Kaitlyn, who was slowly managing to get up. AJ walked towards her and grabbed the collar of her shirt, pulling her closer to her face.

"Karma's only a bitch if you are," AJ said to her, smirking.

* * *

><p>"Seth," Paige warned before erupting into a loud fit of giggles. "Stop!"<p>

He grinned, his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth.

"What's the magic word?"

Paige calmed her laughter enough to reply, "Stop before I break you in half?"

Seth stopped his ruthless tickling, letting his arms fall to his side.

"Good enough," he said, shrugging. "I was aiming for please, but that'll do."

"You love me," Paige teased, nudging him with her elbow.

"You love me more," he said, returning the playful tease.

"Maybe," she said, shrugging. "Maybe not."

"That hurts."

She smiled, flickering her eyes to the TV that hung on the wall that showed the PPV. It showed AJ wrestling Kaitlyn, someone Paige has never really met or talked to.

"Look at her," Paige murmured, jerking her chin in the TV's direction.

"What about her?" Seth asked, not quite getting it. "She's just wrestling."

"I know," she quickly answered.

"So what's bugging you?"

"I don't know," she replied. "Watching her wrestle doesn't.. Disgust me as much as it used to."

"Ah," Seth said. "So you _are_ forgetting the past and your old Diva issues."

Paige eyes narrowed. "I never said that."

"You didn't have to."

She bit her lip, realizing he may be right. Maybe she is forgetting everything. Maybe by some chance she _will_ forget everything. But she can't forgive.

"You know I can't forgive her, Seth," Paige said. "Not after everything."

Seth didn't understand all the drama. "Could you at least try?"

She sighed. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to try."

* * *

><p>"That was great match," Dean praised, pulling her in for a hug. "I'm so proud of you, doll face."<p>

"I'm sweaty."

"I don't care," he said, giving her a small smile. "You kicked ass out there. You deserve a hug."

She chuckled, gazing up at him. "I'll be right back, I need to go talk to Kaitlyn."

He frowned. "This can't be good. What's the matter?"

"Nothing," she lied, shrugging. "I'll be back unharmed, I promise."

"That's not what I'm worried about," he said, grinning. "I don't want you to come back after harming _her_."

She rolled her eyes, walking past him to the locker room. She immediately spotted Kaitlyn, who was pulling her wet hair in a bun.

"Kaitlyn?"

She swung around, smiling at AJ.

"Hey. What's up?"

AJ bit her lip, stealing a quick glance behind her. She would've preferred talking in private.

"I wanted to apologize."

"For?"

"Everything."

"Well," she said, "That's a lot to apologize for."

"You know what I mean," AJ said. "I know I apologized that one night when we talked on the phone, but.. We weren't face to face."

"But, we are now," Kaitlyn said.

"Exactly," AJ said quietly. "I didn't like how we left things off before you left the company. You were once my best friend, and I miss you. I miss our late night chats, I miss us joking around in the locker room. I miss us, Kaitlyn. I miss how we used to be. I'm so lonely here, you don't even know. Everyone here hates me, and I know you only came back for tonight, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends. I miss you, Kaitlyn. You're my best friend, or at least was."

Kaitlyn didn't say anything, only nodded. Her eyes moved behind AJ, where a few Divas were piling into the locker room. One Diva among the crowd caught her attention. Paige.

Then it all clicked.

"AJ, you know we'll always be friends, you know that," she spoke. "But, you're telling the wrong person this."

She offered her an encouraging smile before walking into the back to her stuff, leaving AJ alone. A frown pulled on her lips as she turned on her heels, taking in the scene in front of her. Divas were changing into their clothes, laughing at jokes that were told, just having plain fun.

She didn't need them. She was_ above_ them. These are all worthless Divas that barely get five minutes of TV time each week. AJ didn't need their company. Just like she doesn't need anyone. She's independent- she doesn't rely on anyone, and she wants to keep it that way.

AJ held her head high as she walked through the crowd of Divas. She past Paige, who reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop.

"Hey, AJ," Paige said awkwardly. "I just, uh.. Wanted to say good job on your match. It was impressive."

AJ yanked her arm away. "I don't need your praise, Paige. I know I did a good job."

She pushed past her and left the locker room, giving her hair a flip as the door closed.

Paige's eyes dropped to the floor. That basically just confirmed everything she thought.

She can forget, but she can't forgive.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry things are going so slow. I have a lot of tests and with Christmas coming up, it's a bit hard. But, enough of the excuses. I hope you liked the chapter! AJ's just being stubborn, don't mind her. But I hope she can tone it down before it affects her relationship with Dean. Oops- spoiler alert! Hope you enjoyed it, leave a review! Thanks!<strong>


	22. Chapter 22

"Poor Ellie," a Diva muttered in the crowd as they watched Ellie get loaded into an ambulance. They weren't sure if her ankle was actually broken or just sprained yet. Nikki was angry at herself for messing up and not fully breaking it.

No one wanted Ellie to get hurt. Sure, they hated her, but they didn't want to see her injured.

Minus Nikki. She would break out into song the day Ellie got fired, or even quit. She'd rather her quit, that'd mean she's scared of Nikki and the other Divas. Intimidated.

"So," Brie said in a low voice, "Did Stephanie talk to you?"

"Yeah," Nikki replied, running her tongue over her teeth. "I convinced her I'm innocent. Accidents do happen, after all."

"Yeah," Brie spoke, her eyes darkening. "This was clearly an accident."

She slipped away into the disappearing crowd. Nikki frowned, watching her until she was out of sight. Her sister just doesn't fully understand why she did what she did. She doesn't understand how Nikki saved everyone from Ellie.

They'll thank her later.

She watched as the ambulance drove away, with Ellie in it. She turned around and walked to wherever her sister is. As she turned the corner, she saw Emma in the corner of her eye, who had narrowed eyes. Nikki shrugged it off and continued on.

Paige kept her eye on Emma as they drove Ellie away. She knew they were plotting against Nikki, but she didn't get any of the details, as Emma decided to leave the room then. She wasn't sure how to bring it up to her friend. She didn't want to lose her, but she also wanted to call her out on being an ass and working with Ellie.

She shook her head, wondering why she was so concerned about it. Paige strolled over to Emma and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey," she greeted, noticing the glare she wore. "What's wrong?"

Emma tore her eyes away from Nikki and glanced at Paige.

"Nothing."

"You seem distant."

"Do you think Nikki hurt Ellie on purpose?"

This didn't surprise Paige. "I'm not sure. I mean, with Nikki, you can't be too sure."

"Ellie thinks so."

"Hmm." Paige nervously bit her lip. "Emma, are you.. Are you going to get revenge on Nikki? For what she did to Ellie?"

"Maybe. Why does it matter? If Nikki wants to fight, then a fight she'll get."

Paige didn't like how much she sounded like Ellie. She'd be lying if she said it didn't bother her.

"Emma," she said softly. "You shouldn't do that."

"You're not my mom, Paige."

"She's already got you tied around her finger, doesn't she?" Paige wondered. "And you're falling for it."

"Can you just be glad I'm making more friends?"

"Not when it's Ellie," Paige snapped. "Don't let her do this to you, Emma. She's going to pull you in and use you, then drop you on your ass when you're no longer beneficial to her. Can't you see that? Don't tell me you're that blind."

Paige couldn't help all the words that escaped her mouth. If she couldn't save what little was left between her and AJ, she could at least save this friendship.

Emma narrowed her eyes. "Quit treating me like a kid, Paige! However you view Ellie, is clearly wrong. I can do whatever the hell I want, and if you gave a problem with that, then.. Don't let the door hit _your_ ass on the way out."

"I'm warning you now," Paige said. "When this all blows over, don't come crawling to me."

"You think Ellie's the bitch here?" Emma asked. "She's not. You're the bitch, Paige." She pushed past her, pausing when her back was to her. "I'm done listening to your lies, Paige. I'm done being your friend."

Paige's heart sank. She made a mistake confronting Emma about it. She should've let it go.

When Emma comes crawling back to her, crying over Ellie betraying her, Paige is going to look her dead in the eye and laugh at the mistake she made that cost them their friendship.

* * *

><p>"Brie," Nikki said, her eyes surveying her twin. She could always tell when something was wrong. "Talk to me."<p>

"I didn't think we'd pull this off," Brie said, shaking her head. "I didn't think we'd actually go through with it. It's insane, Nik."

"This is the real world," she said. "People do these things, Brie."

"Yeah, but I never thought we'd be one of them." She sighed. "Maybe I'm looking too much into it. We did the Division a favor, right?"

Nikki paused. "Right."

"You weren't this vicious with AJ and Paige."

"That was different," Nikki said, shrugging.

"Was it?"

"Yes. I was trying to defend my impeccable title reign. With Ellie, I was just trying to get her fired, or at least on a little_ vacation_," she said, waggling her eyebrows. "Which clearly worked."

"Stephanie seemed a bit suspicious."

Nikki waved her off. "I doubt she'll do anything."

"I just don't like seeing this new side of you," Brie admitted. "I don't like this dark, _I'll break your neck if you even look at me in the wrong way_ side."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Nothing's changing, Brie. I'm still the sweet girl you grew up with. Nothing's different, and nothing will change. I promise."

Brie stared into her eyes. She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from calling Nikki out on her lie. She knew that old Nikki was gone, along with the old Divas Division. She closed her eyes and remembered how it used to be. No drama, laughter coming from the locker room, just plain fun without the bickering.

All of that changed when Nikki won at Night of Champions almost a year ago.

* * *

><p>"You ready for this?" Dean asked, stretching backstage.<p>

"I am," AJ said, feeling confident after her encounter with Paige. "I'm ready to go at ringside and watch you wrestle Bray."

"You're gonna be my little cheerleader?" Dean asked, smirking. "I don't have a problem with that."

AJ rolled her eyes. "Lets go, you pig."

"Yes, dear."

They waited for the music to start before walking down the ramp to the ring. People cheered, but only for Dean. AJ knew they didn't cheer for her anymore, but she was glad she was at least getting some kind of reaction.

AJ leaned on the apron as she glanced up at Dean who walked in circles in the ring.

"Come on out here, Bray! Be half the man I am and come on down here so I can kick your ass!"

After a few seconds, the lights went off. Brays voice echoed through the arena, along with his laughter.

"Dean, my boy. You don't learn, do you? You keep crawling back to this darkness. Maybe this darkness is pulling you in." Bray laughed. "After tonight, Dean, you're going to learn what true fear is. You're going to learn that you aren't the only one with demons."

The lights came back on, revealing Bray was already in the ring. Dean tried to attack him, but the ref held him back until the match officially started.

Dean charged after Bray, spearing him into the corner turnbuckle. He ruthlessly kicked him, smiling at watching Bray in pain. He turned around and paused, staring down at AJ who offered him an encouraging smile.

When he turned back around, Bray was up and ready. He sent a blow to Dean's face, knocking him off his balance.

The two wrestled back and forth without anyone getting the advantage. AJ knew it was a fair match, until Dean slid out of the ring and lifted up the apron, his eyes searching for a chair. AJ immediately walked over to him.

"What are you doing? You'll get disqualified!"

Dean glanced up at her with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. A gleam AJ has come to know and love.

He grabbed a chair and pulled it out, tossing it into the ring. He grabbed another one, then slid back into the ring and waited for Bray to stand up.

"He's going to get himself disqualified!" Michael Cole said, widening his eyes. "I can't possibly imagine what's going through his head."

"It's like he's trying to out crazy Bray!" JBL said, shaking his head.

Bray finally stood up while the ref yelled at Dean to put the chair back, or else he's going to lose the match. Bray fell down onto his knees, holding his arms out, beggin Dean to hit him.

Dean looked momentarily confused before raising the chair and hitting Bray. The ref raised his hands and the bell rang. AJ held her face in her hands until she had enough courage to peak through her fingers.

Dean was pounding the chair onto Bray countless of times. The ref wasn't there to make him stop, so Dean wasn't holding anything back. He tossed the chair down and got onto the corner ropes, raising his hands up. He jumped onto Bray, ready to deliver an elbow drop, but Bray rolled out of the way. Dean closed his eyes and winced at the pain soaring through his elbow.

Bray stood up and laughed. He picked up the chair and smacked Dean in the back with it until he was satisfied enough to toss it aside. By now AJ was pleading with him to stop. Bray only ignored her and turned his back on Dean, raising his arms to the side. He was ready for Sister Abigail.

When he turned back around, he picked Dean up. Before he could deliver his move, AJ got into the ring and yelled at Bray.

"Stop, please!" she yelled, widening her eyes. "Please!"

Bray's laughter echoed as he performed the Sister Abigail on Dean. He backed away as Dean collapsed onto the ground. AJ rushed towards him and cradled his face in her hands. She turned around, glaring up at Bray. She stood and raised her hand to slap him.

But before she could, Bray had her in the Sister Abigail. He planted a kiss on her forehead, grinning as he could hear the silence of the crowd. He hesitated before he successfully performed his finisher. He then picked her up like she was a princess and got out of the ring. He carried her up to the stage where he turned around and stared at Dean, who didn't stir.

His laughter was the last thing everything heard as he walked backstage with AJ in his arms.


	23. Chapter 23

**Pretty long chapter. Hope you're ready.**

* * *

><p>AJ's eyes gazed up at the white house that she and Dean now called home. They spent a few weeks house hunting until they came across the perfect one in Florida. Once AJ saw it, she knew it was the one.<p>

"AJ, you're killing me," Dean said, wincing.

"Hm?" She glanced down at his hand, which held hers, that was turning white. She loosened her grip. "Sorry, babe. Just excited."

"Didn't think you'd be_ this_ excited about a house," Dean said as they walked up the stairs.

AJ rolled her eyes as Dean unlocked the door. "You better be kidding."

"I am.. Maybe," he teased, opening the door. The rooms were filled with boxes that held their belongings. Well, mostly AJ's. Dean didn't have much.

"I can't believe we have a house," AJ said, shaking her head. "An_ amazing_ house."

Dean sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. "We should probably start unpacking. What an exciting way to spend my night."

"Oh, quit whining, or you won't get your treat," AJ said, winking.

"Treat?" Dean asked, intrigued. "What is it?"

"The satisfaction of knowing you helped your girlfriend unpack your house."

Dean frowned. "I don't like that treat, try again."

She chuckled, walking into their kitchen and opening a box. "I guess you'll have to wait, then."

"You're no fun."

"Sure I am."

He stood beside her and helped her take out their few plates and glasses.

A couple hours later, they had mostly everything unpacked. AJ fell onto the couch and stared at the wall that lacked a TV. They hadn't bought one yet.

"You know what we should do?" AJ asked as Dean collapsed beside her. "We should throw a house warming party."

"I don't really like parties," he said.

"There'll be beer."

"I'm in."

She laughed, taking his hand. The laughter died on her lips as she frowned.

"I just remembered I don't have any friends to _invite_ to this party," she said. "That might be a problem."

"That's okay, I've got some."

"I don't want a party full of dudes."

"Then I'll just have a few of my friends come," he said. "But I'm sure Seth would bring Paige, and John Cena would bring Nikki, if you want me to invite him."

She scrunched up her nose. "I don't want Nikki to come. Or Paige."

"Oh well," he said, pulling out his phone. "We'll have this little party tomorrow night, okay? Are you free that day?"

"If you are I am," she replied, her eyes drifting off to the floor.

"You need to socialize more," he mumbled, unlocking his phone.

"Dean, don't actually invite Paige and Nikki." She lifted her eyes back up to him. "Please."

"Too late," he said, grinning as he texted Seth, telling him to bring Paige and other Divas.

"Dean!"

He laughed as she tried to grab the phone out of his hands. He held his hand up higher so she couldn't reach.

"I'm only doing this for you," he tried, smiling.

"Bull," she said, sitting back down and folding her arms over her chest. "You just like to see me mad."

"You aren't really mad," he said, poking her. "Are you?"

She sighed. "I guess not. I can at least rub in the fact that I have a big house with my boyfriend to their faces."

He rolled his eyes. "AJ, you shouldn't brag about that stuff all the time."

"And why not?"

"Because," he replied, "it's getting annoying."

She turned to look at him. "_Good_."

* * *

><p>The next night, the party was just starting. AJ wanted to sulk in their bedroom after she realized she might actually have to socialize with Paige and Nikki, but Dean dragged her out. And- what do you know- the first guest to arrive is Seth, with Paige right at his side.<p>

"Seth, man," Dean greeted, closing the door behind them. "Glad you could come."

"Nice place," Seth said, nodding. "Can't believe you let AJ convince you to have a party."

"Hey, just an excuse to buy beer," he joked.

Paige glanced around her, feeling extremely uncomfortable. She didn't want to be at the hotel room alone, and it's not like she had Emma here with her, so here she was. She just hoped Seth didn't leave her alone. She's been feeling so stupid after trying to forgive AJ and talk to her, just for her to blow her off like that.

"Paige? You coming?"

She lifted her eyes up to Seth who was standing in the archway to the dining room, which led into the kitchen. She quickly nodded and followed him.

"You okay?" he asked her in a low voice.

"Yeah," she lied. "Just a minor headache."

"You didn't have to come with me."

"It's fine," she said, smiling. "I wanted to be here with you."

He seemed satisfied and took a seat at the island. Paige awkwardly took a seat next to him. Dean got them each a cup of beer, but Paige politely declined. She didn't want to get drunk around AJ. Who knows what she'd do.

She looked around her, wondering where the Diva was. Just then, AJ came into the room, wearing dark jeans and a black shirt.

AJ stiffened when she saw Paige. She kept her eyes straight ahead of her and turned around, leaving the room when she heard a knock. A couple seconds later, Paige heard voices. She heard AJ use her fake sweet voice. She's heard AJ use it all the time on herself.

It sometimes bothers her how she knows so much about AJ.

A pile of people came in now. Paige now understood why Seth wanted them to come early. Among the crowd was Roman, Dolph Ziggler, Jimmy Uso with Naomi, John Cena without Nikki it seemed, and plenty more Superstars. Paige noticed a few extra Divas lingering in the back.

Her eyes shot up to AJ who was approaching Dean, who was handing out cups of beer. She grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

"Dean, what the hell?" AJ demanded, raising her eyebrows. "You said you were inviting only a few of your friends."

"Yeah.. About that." He rubbed his neck. "I lied."

She narrowed her eyes. "I figured as much."

"C'mon AJ, you like being the center attention, why is this any different?"

"Because this isn't work." She sighed. "I guess I can go hide in the bathroom."

"Oh no you're not," he murmured. "You should be having fun, this is a party that you forced me to throw."

"No, I suggested it. Then you decided it would be fun."

"Minor details."

She narrowed her eyes. "Fine, I'll go out and mingle with the guests. Happy?" He nodded. "You so owe me."

He wrapped his arm around her side, pulling her closer to him. "I'm sure that won't be so hard."

"For you, probably," she said, looking up at him with a grin. "You have to watch all the Avengers movies with me."

His eyebrows furrowed. "What kind of fun is that?"

"Lets see," AJ said. "There's the actually Avengers movie, Captain America, Iron Man, which it's a good thing we have all three of them-"

"If I kiss you, will you shut up?"

She smirked. "Why don't you find out?"

He mimicked her smirk and pulled her in for a deep kiss.

"Hey, lovebirds! I need another refill!"

Dean pulled away, chuckling. He walked back into the kitchen, where almost everyone was. He began pouring more beer into cups.

"AJ, put some music on," he said, taking a swig of his drink.

AJ rolled her eyes, wondering how long it would take for him to get drunk. She walked into the living room, towards the stereo they bought just for the party. She bent down and after a few seconds of figuring out how to work it, music began playing.

She stood back up with a proud smile and turned around, coming face to face with someone.

"Seth," she said, nodding. "What.. are you doing?"

He shrugged. "Ambrose told me to come check up on you to see if you were hiding or not."

"Well, you can go tell him I'm not."

"Obviously," he said, rolling his eyes. "You know, Paige is here."

"_Obviously_."

"That hurts," Seth said, smirking. "You can always talk to her."

"I'll pass," AJ said coldly, brushing past him. She didn't like being mean to Dean's friends, but.. Oh well.

Paige sighed as she held her face in her hand, staring down at the beer that Seth convinced her to drink. She wasn't in the mood to even try to have fun.

"Why aren't you drinking your beer?"

Her eyes shot up to meet Dean's blue eyes. She forced a shrug. "Not thirsty."

"Sure you aren't."

"Bug off, Dean."

He smirked. "Sorry, making me leave isn't as easy as making Seth leave."

"What do you want?"

He took a sip of his drink. "You just seemed sad."

"Since when do you care if I'm sad?"

He chuckled. "I'm starting to think you're more irritating than AJ."

"Unlikely," Paige muttered.

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to go talk to her," Dean said.

"I tried," she said, narrowing her eyes at the memory. "She grew all pissy and just left."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "You actually tried talking to her?"

"Did I not just say that?" She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I did. I tried telling her she did a good job on her match and she did that thing where she gets pissy and thinks she's better than everyone else."

"Yeah, I hate that."

"So you can't tell me to go talk to her, because I already tried."

Dean sighed. His head snapped up when he heard a crash coming from another room. He set his beer down on the island.

"I better go see what the dumbasses broke," he murmured, walking out of the room.

Paige hopped off her stool and wandered through the house, searching for Seth. She had to admit, she was a bit jealous. She knew Seth wasn't ready for the next step in their relationship, yet she couldn't help but fantasize about the day they bought their own house.

She saw Seth talking to AJ in the living room. She frowned and decided she didn't want to get tangled in that mess so she walked down the hall, towards their other rooms. She paused at the end when she heard a familiar voice. She traced it back to the bathroom on her left.

Paige peaked in the crack of the door and saw part of someone sitting on the toilet, talking on their phone.

"Yeah, Nikki's here," she said.

Paige bit her lip, realizing it was Emma.

"I can't exactly do anything, it's kind of last minute," Emma said. "Ellie-"

Paige narrowed her eyes. So, she was talking to Ellie and planning her revenge on Nikki. Could this night get any worse?

"Listen.. Ellie, I can't do that.." Emma said. "Because I don't have anything! Maybe we should wait.. I don't think this is the perfect opportunity.. Okay, fine... I'll go hunt her down and do that. But, if I get caught, I'm blaming you.. Okay, bye."

Paige heard the click of the call ending and quickly walked away from the bathroom. She heard a toilet flush and Emma filing out of the room.

Maybe it would be best if Paige didn't get involved in this. She didn't want to see Nikki hurt, but she also didn't want to mess with Emma. She doesn't want her to hate her even more. Maybe she'd just let it all play out and watch it all crumble to pieces.

A half hour later, the party was in full swing. There were more people than even Dean had anticipated on, but he was enjoying himself. He, along with several other Superstars, and even a few Divas, had gotten extremely drunk. Almost everyone was in their living room, which was barely big enough to hold them. Everyone was dancing and spilling their drinks everywhere.

Dean pulled AJ closer to him and offered her some of his beer. She wasn't as drunk as everyone else, because she felt like the party needed a chaperone to keep everyone under control. And of course it had to be.

"Come on, AJ! Loosen up!" Dean shouted over the music.

Seth was just making a fool of himself, drinking and dancing at the same time. He kept his hand around Paige's waist, mostly because he didn't want to lose her in the crowd. Paige never even finished her cup of beer. Her eyes kept floating back to Nikki, who was across the room, dancing with Brie. She wasn't sure what Emma had planned, but she was positive it was nothing good.

"Paige, what are you staring at?" Paige's head swiveled back to Seth, who was grinning down at her. "Here, have a sip of my drink! It'll make you feel better!"

"I'm good!" Paige yelled back. She glanced around her and saw Nikki was gone. "I'm going to go to the bathroom for a minute!"

She slipped out of his grasp and out of the crowd. Someone pushed her, almost making her fall down onto the hardwood floor. She stood in the archway, wondering where Nikki could be. She continued through the house until she saw the bathroom door was closed and there was light inside.

Paige took a deep breath, and before she could leave, the bathroom door swung open and Nikki stepped out.

"What-" Nikki started to say but stopped, shaking her head. "No, I don't care."

She walked past Paige and back into the living room. Paige muttered something then turned back around.

"Emma," Paige said, biting her lip. "What are you doing?"

Emma narrowed her eyes, putting her hands on her hips. "I know you heard me in the bathroom, Paige."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Like crap you don't."

"Emma," Paige said quietly. "You're kind of freaking me out."

She took a step closer to Paige. "The question is, what are you going to do about it?"

"About what?"

"About what you heard."

"I'm not going to do a damn thing, because it's not my business," Paige said, glaring. "What's happening to you, Emma?"

"You think I'm going to believe that?" Emma asked, putting a hand on her hip. "I don't believe a word that's coming out of your mouth right now."

"Okay, fine," Paige said. "I'm going to try and stop you before you do something you're going to regret."

"You talk like you have experience from this." Emma laughed. "Oh wait, you do."

Paige's eyes narrowed. "I don't give a flying fuck what you do to Nikki. Just wait for karma to catch up to you. And, if karma doesn't step in and do something, then_ I_ will."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Really? Ellie's not at your side. She won't be for what, a month or two?" Paige asked, raising her eyebrows. "That is, if it's sprained. Is it sprained, Emma?"

"Maybe. Why do you care?"

"Damn. I wish Nikki did the job right and broke it," Paige said, sighing. "Leave it to the amateurs to not finish the job."

Emma suddenly felt very small standing there talking to Paige, who was actually starting to scare her.

"So, what are you going to do with your little bitch gone from work for a month?" Paige asked. "You're going to be an open target for Nikki and her minion sister."

"They're no threat."

Paige laughed. "Really? Yeah, tell me you don't actually believe that."

"Did I stutter? They're not a threat."

Paige snorted, walking past Emma, pausing when she's right beside her. "They might not be, but I am."

She then walked back into the living room, back to her boyfriend. Emma clenched her fists closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she pulled out her phone and called Ellie.

"Change of plans," Emma said once Ellie picked up. "New enemy. _Paige_. Any more brilliant ideas?"

* * *

><p><strong>I know it's clear Emma's on Ellie's side now, so if you had to pick another Diva to join forces with Ellie, who would you choose? I need another Diva to be on her side, which you find out soon why. And I'm torn between which one to choose. Help?<strong>


	24. Chapter 24

**Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions! You guys are so supportive! I didn't think I'd get so many answers, so thank you very much! I'm loving all the new people reviewing! But I also love all the people who have been reviewing since the beginning! You guys are the best!**

* * *

><p>A week from Payback, Monday Night Raw finally rolled around. AJ didn't appear on the last of Raw episode to fuel the kidnapping angle they were going for. Dean went crazy on Raw, going insane as he searched for her. But of course he never found her.<p>

The Divas all seemed to be in a better mood since the party. AJ used to hate all the tension that there was, especially after they flipped out on her, but now things were back to normal. Or it seemed.

Paige noticed Summer Rae talking to Emma quite a lot while she was changing in the locker room. She waited for the bomb to drop at the party with Nikki and Emma, but it never did. It seemed as though Emma changed her mind about things. Ellie was of course the main cause of it, no doubt. And now, Summer was falling for it.

"Can you believe that?" Emma asked in a hushed voice, giggling along with Summer. "It was her all along."

"I figured," Summer admitted, "she was the one. I mean, it was practically written all over her face. She could've just screamed, 'I tried to break Ellie's ankle but failed.'"

Emma laughed once more. "I'm so glad we have this new friendship. I need more blonde friends."

Summer grinned. "Right back at ya."

Paige rolled her eyes, suddenly feeling bad for Summer getting dragged into this mess. She should escape while she can. Then again, she's never liked Summer. Yeah, never mind. She should suffer with Ellie, just like Emma is.

She turned her focus to the other Divas who were chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Paige never understood how easily they could accept each other and be friends. She's always considered them enemies that to stomp on and crush, rather than gossip and laugh with.

She's becoming to resemble AJ.

And yet, that doesn't seem to bother her.

Her head jerked up when she heard footsteps approaching her. She always stayed hidden in the corner where no one would notice her and try to start a conversation. Yet that didn't seem to work this time.

"Sorry, this is just the only quiet place here," AJ said, tossing a glance behind her. "Bitches don't know how to keep their mouths shut."

Paige regretted it the moment it happened, but a loud, carefree laugh escaped her mouth. The genuine kind of laughter, too.

"What?" AJ asked, raising her eyebrows. "What's so funny?"

Paige only continued to crack up more. She covered her mouth with her hand, hoping it would conceal the obnoxious laughter. It didn't.

"Nothing, just how you talk sometimes," Paige said, grinning. "I always missed that."

Yeah, she regretted telling AJ that too.

"I know what you mean," AJ said, sitting down next to Paige and sighing. "I miss when things weren't complicated between everything. I missed when no one was planning revenge on another Diva."

"Me too," she agreed, frowning. "With Ellie gone maybe we will get peace."

"But there's only a few weeks until she comes back."

"Exactly. Enjoy your peace while it lasts."

"You heard about Emma apparently plotting against Nikki, right?" AJ asked.

"Yep," she replied, running her tongue over her piercing. "And I don't like it. But it's not my place to tell her that."

That was a lie. Paige pointed it out to Emma how stupid she was being, yet the stubborn blonde refused to listen.

"Ellie should just jump off a cliff."

"AJ!" Paige said, laughing. "That's.."

"The truth?" AJ asked, snorting. "It is. And if she can't jump, I will push her without hesitation."

"I'll help hide the body."

AJ smiled. "I know."

The two sat in silence as they watched the Divas in front of them begin to argue. Peace and quiet didn't seem to last that long.

"Why is it so hard to talk to each other when forced, but so easy to talk on random occasions, like now?" Paige asked.

AJ shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I don't like being forced to do things."

"Because you're stubborn," Paige muttered.

"Like you're any better."

"Never said I was."

AJ smirked. The Divas arguing grew louder until they were screaming. Insults were thrown at one another, along with a few slaps.

Paige noticed Emma seemed the be the cause of this. She watched in amusement as Emma easily defended Ellie like it was nothing. All the Divas then seemed to divide into two groups, into two sides. Over Ellie. Figures.

Emma stood with Summer and Eva behind her. There was a group of Divas in front of them, then another group in the middle, who seemed to be trying to stay out of this.

"You keep talking about Ellie, but where is she?" Naomi asked. "Oh, right. Out on an injury."

"An injury that wasn't an accident," Emma spat, narrowing her eyes. "You're all just blind."

Naomi scoffed, placing a hand on her hip. "You won't be saying that when I make you go bli-"

Natalya pulled Naomi back, calming her down. She glared Emma's way but remained silent.

AJ knew everyone would eventually get into a heated fight about Ellie. It was bound to happen, and frankly she was surprised it didn't happen sooner. She noticed Nikki and Brie weren't in the locker room. That made her a bit relieved, things would have gotten bad fast if Nikki was in here.

Maybe now that almost all the Divas are turning against Ellie, she'll finally get the hint and either leave or clean her act up. But, fate seemed to have other plans for Ellie. These Divas can't take her down.

But AJ, Nikki, and Paige could.

* * *

><p>The rest of the month flew by. Bray handed AJ over to Dean at Raw, with the condition they have a rematch at the next PPV. It was a tables match, which only resulted in chaos with the two. AJ came out with Dean like she has been and kissed him good luck in the ring.<p>

The match went by fast. Dean has Bray right where he wanted him- laying on a table in the ring. Dean began climbing up the ladder to dive off and land on Bray. Right at the top, though, he stopped, noticing AJ was climbing up the other side of the ladder. Dean rested his elbows on the very top and watched AJ climb up to meet him.

"What the hell, AJ?" Dean asked, motioning to Bray. "I'm about to end him!"

"Wait! First," AJ said, grabbing Dean's neck and pulled him in for a kiss. He relaxed after a few seconds when AJ finally pulled away. She glanced down at the table, noticing Bray rolled off and was now laying on the apron. AJ smirked. "Sorry, baby."

She pushed him off the ladder, watching with a proud smirk as he collapsed onto the table. The bell rang, announcing Bray Wyatt as the winner.

AJ hopped off the ladder and skipped all the way up to the ramp with the Divas belt perched on her shoulder.

"You should have seen this coming, Dean," AJ said, grinning. "You should expect the unexpected by now."

Bray rolled out of the ring and sat with his back leaning against the barricade as he watched Dean with a cold smirk.

"I never liked you. You know why?" AJ asked. "Because you underestimated me. You don't know what I'm capable of, Dean. I could have ended you right up there on that ladder, but I didn't. I don't give a crap if you face _demons_ every time you enter that ring. Because I face something worse than you: myself."

She smirked, laughing. "Oh, Dean. Try to think of this as a lesson. Don't mess with a black widow if you can't handle the poison."

She dropped the mic on the ramp and skipped backstage.

Basically after that, things started to go back to normal. Everyone cooled off in the locker room, muttering apologies to the other Divas.

Naturally that all changed when Ellie fully recovered and came back. This time, she came back with a plan to destroy anyone who ever messed with her. And she had even more people backing her up- Summer and Eva.

That being said, Nikki, AJ, and Paige were on the top of her hit list. And she was already brewing up a thunderous storm.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the sudden time jump, I wanted to speed things up a bit. The whole point of the Divas kind of rebelling against Ellie was to show that they weren't smart enough to take her out. But, we know three Divas who are. *hint, hint.*<strong>

**Everything's going to blow up during the next chapter. That's why this chapter is kind of boring compared to the others. I just needed to finish off AJ's love angle with Dean. But Ellie finally comes back with her next victims in mind! & I hope you guys don't hate me too much after reading the next chapter. Just stick with me, you've all been very supportive. Thanks!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Merry Christmas! I hope you all have a fun and safe holiday! And if you don't happen to celebrate Christmas, Merry Thursday! I hope you're all ready for this chapter, which is my present to you! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Ellie walked down the halls of WWE with Summer and Emma on either side of her. Eva was trailing behind them not too far. She's only been back for two weeks and was already causing trouble and drama for everyone. Every match she's been in on Raw and Smackdown she's won. She's getting to the top whether anyone likes it or not.<p>

Tonight on Raw she had a match scheduled against Brie. She had to put her plan to take Nikki out on hold because she came up with a much better idea that will happen during her match tonight. It'll destroy Nikki.

Ellie left her little minions behind as she walked up to catering and saw Seth standing there. Deciding to meddle with Paige's relationship once more, she strolls up to him with a smile.

"Seth," she greeted with a smile. "How are things going?"

He shrugged, avoiding her gaze. "They're going."

"How's Paige?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

Ellie shrugged now. "Just curious."

"No, you aren't."

"You're right," Ellie said, smiling. "I'm not."

She moved closer to him, smiling even more as he stiffened.

"You seem tense," she said. "What's wrong?"

"Maybe it's because you're so close to me."

She rolled her eyes. "Let me ask you something, Seth. Why are you with Paige and not me?"

"Ellie-"

"Let me finish." She paused, waiting for him to interrupt. But he didn't. "She doesn't like you like I could. She doesn't believe in you. She's insecure, Seth, that's why she's with you. So she can wake up every morning to someone she doesn't have feelings for and receive compliment after compliment. She's just bored and lonely, Seth."

"It sounds to me you're the insecure one," Seth said, narrowing his eyes and backing away from her. "Leave Paige be."

She smiled. "Where's the fun in that?"

He didn't say anything, only continued to glare at her.

She leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "If you ever get tired of her complaining, you know where to find me."

He closed his eyes as she walked away, rejoining with her group. He could still smell her scent- vanilla.

Seth couldn't help but think what Ellie said about Paige. How would she know how Paige is? He's never really noticed, but now that he's thinking about it, she is insecure. But that's normal, right?

He walked to the locker room to find Paige. Luckily, he saw her on the way, saving him the trouble of awkwardly waiting for her to finish changing.

"Paige," Seth said, walking up to her. "Can we talk?"

"This can't be good," Paige murmured, following him to an empty space. She hopped on one of the crates and watched him. "You're all fidgety and uncomfortable. What's bothering you?"

He shoved his hand in his pockets as he had yet to change. "Ellie talked to me."

"God," Paige muttered. "What lies did she tell you about me?"

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "How do you know it's all about you?"

She shrugged. "I assumed, since she seems to hate my guts and worship the mere ground you walk on."

"She just flirted with me," Seth said, not wanting to tell Paige about the insecurity deal. He didn't want to make her feel worse. "It's getting annoying. She won't stop."

"She doesn't understand the concept of what is and isn't hers."

"Clearly," Seth spoke. "Are you going to do anything about it?"

"No, why would I?"

"I don't know," he replied, shrugging. "You're not worried I'll ditch you for her?"

She raised her eyebrows. "No, I trust you with my life. If you say nothing is going on, then I believe you."

"I'm just teasing, I would never betray you like that. You're my life, Paige."

She smiled. "I know. You have nothing to worry about either, Seth. I will never do that either."

Ellie listened in to their conversation in the background, frowning at what she heard. Looks like it's time for Plan B of Destroy Paige.

After that's done, all that's left is to destroy Nikki and AJ.

* * *

><p>The Divas match of the night started soon after. Ellie stood in the ring alone as she scowled at the Bella Twins walking down the ramp.<p>

Brie got into the ring and the ref started the match. Ellie has become more violent in the ring and everyone's noticed, yet no one seems to mind.

"C'mon Brie!" Nikki shouted from ringside, pounding her hands on the apron.

Brie delivered a drop kick to Ellie, knocking her over. She got her ready for her finisher when Ellie dodged it and rammed her elbow into Brie's gut. The crowd seemed to be taking a liking to Ellie. They didn't know what happened backstage, only what happened at the arena.

Ellie jumped off the corner ropes and onto Brie, her elbow landing in her gut once more. She pulled her up and delivered her finisher to Brie.

Ellie should've pinned her for the win, but instead, she put Brie in a submission hold, putting all the pressure on her arm. Brie tried to move to the ropes but she couldn't. Brie raised her hand to tap but stopped as sudden pain took over.

She screamed as Ellie sadistically grinned. Nikki realized what was going on and slid into the ring, ready to pull Ellie off. But it was too late. She was too late.

Brie's arm was broken.

Ellie broke Brie's arm as a way of revenge.

She tapped out and Ellie gave the arm one last twist before releasing her and quickly rolling out of the ring, backing up onto the stage. She watch as Nikki cradled her head.

Nikki's head shot up and she sent Ellie the nastiest glare. She knew it was on purpose, obviously. She sprained her ankle, Ellie breaks Brie's arm. It seemed fair to Ellie.

"You'll be okay," Nikki whispered to Brie as a swarm of people came running down to assist her. Nikki tried to tell Brie it was broken, but she had doubts. She heard the crack.

Nikki walked beside Brie and got into the ambulance with her, holding her hand the whole entire time.

"You'll be okay," Nikki whispered. "I promise."

* * *

><p>"Lets do something tomorrow," Dean suggested to his girlfriend, sitting down on one of the chairs. "Something fun."<p>

"Like what?" AJ asked. "Oh, we could talk about work."

"I don't want to talk about work."

"Or about my match earlier against Layla. It was good," AJ said, biting her lip. "Right?"

Dean paused. "Right."

"You hesitated before answering."

"AJ, I don't want to talk about this," he said, sighing. "I'm sick of hearing about work and your belt all the damn time."

"Okay, then what do you want to do tomorrow that's fun?"

"We could-"

"We could go to the beach!" AJ said, smiling. "That'd be fun."

"Yeah, we can go there."

The two started talking about the match that was going on right now, which happened to be Brie's, which led to AJ talking about herself again._ That_ led to Dean ignoring her.

Paige took a deep breath and walked away from the door where she watched Brie leave to go to the hospital. Things were so dangerous around here now. Who knows who's arm or leg Ellie will decide to break next.

She turned around and bumped into someone she never saw before. Probably a crew member.

"Sorry," she muttered, walking past him. He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "What the hell are you-"

His mouth crashed onto hers. He held her tight, making it impossible for her to get out of his grasp. He finally let go and backed away before she could slap him.

"Sorry about that," he said, frowning. "I needed the money."

He walked away from her, leaving her stunned.

Did she just cheat on Seth?

* * *

><p>"I can't believe it," Seth muttered to himself as he pushed past people.<p>

"Believe what?"

He spun around, his scowl deepening when he saw it was Ellie.

"What the hell are you doing, huh? Following me?"

She raised an eyebrow, brushing back her blonde hair. "No, I just happened to be right here. What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Seth, I know something's up. So tell me. What's wrong?"

Seth shook his head. "Just.. Paige."

"What'd she so?"

Seth didn't want to talk about this to her. But she was somewhat right earlier, what harm would it do?

"I saw her kissing someone else," he admitted.

He got a text from an unrecognized number saying it was Triple H and he needed someone out of his car. He asked Seth if he could get it because he was stuck in a meeting. Seth figured it was him because who else would have his number?

So he walked to the entrance and witnessed something he thought he never would. Paige was with someone else. Naturally he left before confronting her, simply because he was too angry. She told him he had nothing to worried about.

She said nothing would ever happen.

She said no one would ever come between them.

But she lied.

"You poor thing," Ellie said, not able to wipe the smile off her face. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Just leave me alone."

"I know you don't want that," she said. She leaned up to him, only a few inches away from his mouth. "Are you sure?"

Seth paused before pushing her off. "Ellie, get the fuck away from me."

"Okay, I'll give you some space," she said, raising her hands and walking away. She paused when she was right beside him. "When the other shoe drops, you'll still know where to find me. My hotel room number's 320. I'll be waiting."

Ellie smirked as she walked away from him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Paige lurking in the background. Her plan was working.

Destroy Paige was almost complete. She just had to wait until they confronted each other.

After Raw, Paige had successfully avoided Seth. She saw him in a very close embrace with Ellie. It looked like they just finished kissing. Go figure.

But that made her feel even worse. She kissed someone else too, against her will. How is Seth going to react when she tells him that?

Paige took a taxi alone to the hotel. She hoped Seth would still go to their room, because she needed to talk to him. Of course, she'd rather just avoid him for all of eternity, but she had to get this off her chest.

She knows she left before Seth did because he was in the Main Event match. So she sat on the bed with all the lights off and waited for him to come back. She jumped when she finally heard the door open.

"Paige?" Seth's voice rang out as the lights turned on. When he saw her on the bed, he seemed to tense up. "Paige."

"Seth, what were you doing kissing Ellie?" Paige asked, wasting no time in confronting him. "You promised me I had nothing to worry about. Clearly that was bullshit!"

"I wasn't the one who broke the promise! I saw you with another man!" he said, wincing as Paige went pale. "That's right. You thought you could hide that from me?"

"He kissed me against my will, Seth!" she said. "I didn't kiss him!"

"How did he kiss you against your will?"

"He pulled me in and wouldn't let go! What was I supposed to do, huh?"

"Maybe pull away?" Seth replied.

"Well what's it matter now? You were kissing Ellie. I saw it!"

"I never touched her, Paige! God, the thought of doing that just makes me cringe! After I saw you, I stormed off and she found me and talked to me. We didn't kiss."

"Oh, so now you talked about us with her?" Paige demanded. "She's not our damn counselor, Seth!"

"Maybe if you didn't kiss that guy, none of this would have happened!"

"I told you, I wasn't strong to pull away!"

"You're never strong enough!" Seth shouted. He watched Paige as she looked down at the ground. "Shit, I didn't mean that, Paige."

"Yes, you did. Or you wouldn't have said it," she said quietly. "You've got a lot of nerve, pinning all the blame on me."

"That's because you're the one to blame! If you didn't kiss him, none of this would have happened."

Paige closed her eyes as a tear ran down her cheek.

"If you feel that way, then you can just get out."

"What?"

"I said get out!" Paige yelled, picking up a magazine that was on the bed and throwing it at him. "Get the fuck out!"

He held his arm up to block it and watched helplessly as Paige collapsed onto the bed.

"If that's what you want," he quietly said, picking up his bags and walking out the door. He closed it and leaned against it, running a hand down his face.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Paige couldn't even apologize, and she has the nerve to kick him out? It's not like he did anything. He didn't kiss Ellie.

He thought about getting his own room, then remembered something someone told him earlier on. He knew he would regret this later on, but right now, he just needed to get his mind off things.

He carried his bags and walked down the hall, stopping right in front of the room numbered _320_. He raised his fist up to knock but paused, wondering if he actually wanted to pull through with this. He closed his eyes, but only thought of Paige accusing him of kissing Ellie when he didn't even. He opened them back up and knocked on the door.

After a few seconds, Ellie opened the door and Seth pushed himself inside and closed the door behind him, making sure it's locked.


	26. Chapter 26

"Look at that view," AJ said, gazing at the beach in front of her. It was the day after Raw and, just as Dean promised, they went to the beach. "It's almost as pretty as my-"

"AJ, I swear, if you mention work even once, I will leave you at this beach."

AJ frowned, closing her mouth. She grabbed Dean's hand and pulled him towards the beach. They found an empty spot on the sand that wasn't surrounded by too many people to put their towels.

AJ then dragged Dean out to the water, where they swam together for hours. Dean continued to splash AJ, over and over, which resulted in her tackling him and pulling him underwater. The two had endless amounts of fun and stayed at the beach until the sun was beginning to set. There was a restaurant right beside them where Dean got take out food and brought it to a picnic table not too far from the beach. He and AJ took a break from swimming and enjoyed the sunset.

"This has been a magical day," AJ said, smiling. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, enjoying the nice breeze.

A smile tugged on Dean's lips as he watched AJ. She was so beautiful, he just knew she was the one for him.

They drove back to their hotel and, after changing, sat on the balcony watching the rest of the sunset. Dean couldn't peel his eyes off of AJ. He reached into his pocket, his fingers brushing against a velvet box.

"AJ, I wanted to ask you something."

He waited for her to turn around, but she didn't seem to hear.

"AJ."

"Hm?" she asked, turning her head to meet his. "Sorry, I was just thinking about Sunday."

"Sunday?"

"Yeah, my match. It's Battleground, remember? I'm not sure if my opponent's going to be Naomi, or Natalya, or who. They said they were considering bringing someone up from NXT, but I'm not sure if that's best." She shrugged. "I guess it doesn't really matter who I face, either way I'm bound to win."

"AJ.."

"What? You don't agree with me?"

"I never said that. I just want you to close your damn mouth so I can talk to you."

"You don't have to get all snippy."

"I'm not," he argued. "I'm just sick of your bragging and you talking about how you're the best."

"Are you saying I'm not?"

"See? That's what I'm talking about!" Dean exclaimed. "You need constant reassurance of people telling you you're the best. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to spend my time telling you that."

AJ raised her eyebrows. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying I miss the old you!" he replied. "You've changed, AJ. You're moodier, one little comment is all it takes to set you off, you never shut the fuck up about work, and I'm just-"

"You've changed too," AJ said, narrowing her eyes. "You're not as sweet as you were when we started dating. What, now that you've got me hooked you lose your charm?"

"That's bullshit and you know it," Dean said.

"Is it, Dean? I can't even say one thing without you biting my head off or yelling at me or ignoring me!"

"Don't you think there's a reason I do that? You're like an old record player that won't shut the fuck up!"

AJ glared. "That was uncalled for. If you have something worth bragging about-"

"Then you consider other people may not have what you have? That it's extremely rude?"

AJ widened her eyes. "This is about you not having the belt, isn't it?"

Dean narrowed his eyes.

"It is!" AJ said. "You're just jealous I have the gold and you don't."

"I'm not fucking jealous of a 90 pound brat."

"Yes you are! Admit it! You don't have the talent I have to be a champion!"

Once it left her mouth she regretted it.

"You're saying I don't have any talent?"

She shrugged. "Why else aren't you champion? Makes sense to me."

"I don't even give a fuck anymore," Dean said. "All it is anymore is either you bitching about Ellie or your damn belt."

"Like you've never had someone who hated your guts?" AJ asked, frowning. "Right, forgot. Mr. Perfect doesn't have any enemies."

"You're not going to get offended by calling me perfect? You know, being threatened someone could be better than you?" Dean asked. "Oh, right. I forgot no one is better than you."

"Fuck you, Dean!" AJ shouted. "At least I'm believing in myself!"

"I'd rather be able to admit I'm not the best than to pretend I'm something that I'm not."

AJ clenched her fists. "Are you done insulting me? That's all you seem to be doing."

"That's because I've been holding this in all this time!"

AJ released her fists. "Since when are you afraid to tell someone the truth, even if it breaks them?"

"Since it consumes me life," Dean replied. "I just can't take it anymore. I'm done. I'm fucking done with your bitching and complaining. I can't take it anymore, AJ. I try my hardest to make you happy but I just can't. I'm done."

AJ fought back tears. Was he breaking up with her?

"Never typed you as one who gave up so easily," she spat, folding her arms over her chest. "Then again, what else should I expect from a burnout with nothing to his name?"

Dean coldly chuckled. "Maybe when you're done being a bitch, I'll give you a second chance. So call me when you lose the belt, princess."

He turned and left the balcony, then left the hotel room. She closed her eyes in attempt to block out the tears. She wasn't going to cry over him.

She opened them and noticed something on the patio table. She crossed over to it and picked it up. It was a small, red box. AJ bit her lip as she opened it, revealing a diamond ring. Her eyes studied it, realizing it was the same ring she picked out so long ago. Dean's had it all this time? He was going to propose, and she ruined it? She ruined her chance at love, at being a wife?

She closed the box and clutched it to her chest, closing her eyes as she began shaking. She sat down on the cold floor and let the the tears escape her eyes. There was no holding them back now.

* * *

><p>Sunday soon came along, which meant Battleground.<p>

AJ hasn't talked to Dean since he broke up with her, and she was devastated. She doesn't understand why he broke up with her. Maybe she's not good enough for him. Or maybe she'd be better off without him. Who knows anymore.

Paige hasn't talked to Seth either. She's upset that he didn't even bother asking her what was wrong. It's like he doesn't even trust her. He just stormed off and went to Ellie to bitch about their relationship. He claims he didn't even kiss her, and she believes him. But why doesn't he believe her when she says that he forced himself on her?

Nikki was upset about leaving Brie had home, but she had work to do. Ellie knew her weak spot, and that was her sister. And she tried her hardest to break that spot. It was safe to say she accomplished that.

AJ avoided everyone at work and stayed in the locker room until her match started, because she knew Dean couldn't just barge in there and yell at her some more. She only left the locker room when Stephanie wanted to talk to her.

"AJ. Come on in," Stephanie said. "I wanted to talk to you about your match."

AJ nodded, taking a seat in front of her.

"We were going to have Brie be your opponent, but now we obviously can't." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "After much discussion, we finally found an opponent."

AJ's eyes moved up to meet Stephanie's. "Who is it?"

"Ellie."

"What?"

"Ellie," Stephanie repeated. "She's proven to us she's ready for a shot at the title. She's improved immensely in the ring and we've all noticed. You better go, the match starts soon."

AJ didn't say anything as she got up and left the office, walking towards the gorilla where she saw Ellie waiting with Emma and Summer. Eva must be off somewhere doing something else.

Everything was just falling apart for the Diva. Why do things have to be so complicated? Why can't she just be happy?

She heard them announce the match and her music began playing. She took a deep breath and pushed through the curtains, putting on the fakest, biggest smile she could muster.

* * *

><p>Paige walked down the hall, hoping she wouldn't run into Seth. But, as her luck seems to be as of late, she spots him talking to Dean, who seemed fairly upset. Seth didn't seem that great either.<p>

Seth spotted Paige and immediately avoided her gaze. But, she had a few things to get off her chest so she strolled up to him. She wanted to apologize for accusing him of kissing Ellie.

"Seth, can we talk?"

He paused, his eyes flickering to Dean. "Okay."

He walked past Dean who muttered a good luck before walking away. Paige followed Seth to a private spot. But before she could apologize, Seth opened his mouth.

"I slept with Ellie."

Everything around Paige seemed to freeze. She could feel her legs turn to liquid. She must have heard him wrong. He couldn't have actually said that.

"You didn't," she said quietly.

"I did," he confirmed, looking down at his shoes. "Paige, I'm sorry. It was a mistake, okay? Ruining our relationship was the last thing I wanted to do."

"Please tell me you're lying," she whispered.

"I wish I could."

"I trusted you, Seth!" Paige said, pounding her fists on his chest. "I- I can't..."

She let her arms fall as she leaned against the wall for support. She covered her eyes with her hand as she didn't want him to see her cry.

"Paige, I'm so sorry."

"No, you're not," she said. "Or you wouldn't have done it."

"It was a mistake," he said.

"It wasn't a mistake, it was a choice," she said, quietly. She couldn't wrap her head around this.

"I.. I wasn't thinking. I.. Ellie told me she paid that guy to kiss you. I know it wasn't you know."

"You think that's going to change anything?" Paige shouted. "You_ slept_ with Ellie! I can't forget that, Seth. And I can't forgive you for doing that."

"Are you breaking up with me?"

"What'd you think I was going to do?" she shouted. "You can't just magically erase that! You made the choice of cheating on me, Seth. Now the blame's all on you. So just.. get the fuck out of my face before I explode." When he didn't move, she pushed him. "Get the fuck away from me you cheating dick!"

He flinched at the sudden push but obliged, watching her close her eyes and start to cry.

"I'm really sorry, Paige. I hope one day you can forgive me."

She didn't open her eyes to see if he left. Her whole entire world was just falling apart. Her relationship was over, all because of Ellie.

Paige knew what had to be done. Yeah, maybe she should be the better person and just let everything between Ellie go, but revenge is just too sweet.

* * *

><p>AJ stood in the ring, feeling completely devastated and heartbroken. There was no way she could focus on her match while this upset. She knew somewhere backstage, Dean was watching with a smug smirk, probably laughing at her.<p>

So she held her head high and ignored the urge to cry as she watched Ellie come out. She can't be distracted for this match, she can't let Ellie take her baby away from her! Not only that, but Dean would laugh his ass off if she lost.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a match for the Divas Championship!"

Lillian Garcia, the ring announcer, spoke. She introduced the two competitors, and the match started.

AJ ran towards Ellie and tackled her to the ground, pounding her head off the mat. She punched her and slapped her until Ellie pushed her off. She bounced right back on Ellie and didn't let her get a single hit in.

Until Ellie managed to throw her out of the ring. AJ held her head, wincing at the pain. When she looked back up, Ellie was jumping off the corner rope and landing on AJ, her elbow connecting with AJ's gut.

AJ jumped back up and shoved Ellie into the corner post. She pulled her back up and shoved Ellie back into the ring before the ref counted to ten. She clotheslined Ellie before she could get a hit in. She then delivered a drop kick, knocking her off her balance.

The two continued wrestling back and forth until Ellie managed to sneak in a surprise hit to AJ's head while the ref wasn't looking. AJ stumbled back, holding her head.

Ellie picked AJ up and performed her finisher. She called out to the ref as she pinned AJ. The ref slid over and slammed his hand down on the mat once..

Twice..

And a third time.

Ellie was the new Divas champion.

* * *

><p>AJ felt like the whole entire world was just out to get her as she trudged backstage. She was supposed to win, she was supposed to crush Ellie! If she hadn't snuck that blow to her head, maybe she'd have the belt wrapped around her waist. First Dean, now this..<p>

She walked into the locker room, glad at it's emptiness, minus a couple Divas. If she saw Ellie, she might just claw her eyes out. She sat down on the bench and held her head in her hands. How could she let something like this happen? She feels like such a failure. She let everyone down, but most importantly, she let herself down.

"AJ?"

She looked up, surprised to see Paige. She didn't reply, letting her eyes drop to the floor.

"I saw what happened," Paige said softly. "I'm so sorry."

The locker room door flew open. Nikki clenched her fists as she glared at them.

"What's with you?" Paige asked.

"Fucking Ellie broke my sisters arm!" she said, her fists turning white. "She's going to be out for at least a couple months!"

"Ellie," AJ muttered. "Why is she the cause of everyone's problems?"

"She didn't do anything to you," Nikki said, looking at Paige, who snorted, despite wanting to cry.

"She ruined my relationship."

"How?" AJ asked.

"Seth cheated on me. With her." Paige shook her head. "I.. I trusted him! And he let me down."

"Oh my god," Nikki mumbled, taking a seat next to AJ.

AJ sighed. "Yeah, I'm on the same boat."

Paige raised an eyebrow. "Dean cheated on you?"

"No, but he dumped me." She left out the part of him about to propose. She was already humiliated enough, she didn't need to add to that.

"I'm sorry," Paige said sincerely.

AJ shrugged. "It's fine. Well, not really. But I'll deal with it."

"Ellie needs a taste of her own medicine," Nikki said. "I'm sick of her thinking she runs this place. She can't just go around breaking peoples arms, sleeping with taken men, and ruining relationships."

"She took my belt from me," AJ said, her muscles tensing. "She's going to pay for that."

"You know what we should do?" Paige asked.

"Team up and take down Ellie?" Nikki replied.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Paige said, glancing at AJ. "Are you up for some revenge?"

She smiled for the first time that night. "Always."

"So we're really going to do this?" Nikki asked. "We're going to team up and get revenge on Ellie?"

AJ and Paige shared a smirk before nodding. What else was there left to do?

When everything you love has been stolen from you, sometimes all you have left is revenge.


	27. Chapter 27

AJ, Paige, and Nikki sat in their hotel room as they thought of what to do. It was the day after Battleground, which meant Raw was to come later on. They all decided it would be more convenient to share a hotel room.

"Would it be fair if we actually hurt Ellie?" Nikki asked, tapping her chin. "If so I have a few ideas.."

"Not again," Paige said, shaking her head. "I don't want to resort to that. That's just _cruel_, Nikki."

"Well, I only sprained her ankle," Nikki reminded. "She broke Brie's arm. That's much worse."

"I just want to claw her eyes out," AJ said, snapping her pencil in half. She glanced down at it, frowning. She tossed it aside and lied down on the bed. "But I don't think that's professional."

"Probably not," Paige said.

AJ blew out a sigh and looked down at her phone, hoping for their to be a message or a missed call from Dean. She didn't want to talk to him, but it would be nice to know that he cared whether or not she was okay.

But there wasn't.

Of course.

"AJ? Are you sure you're okay about Dean?"

"Do you want the truth?" she asked. Paige nodded. "Then no, I'm not. And I won't be for a while. I mean, he was a constant part of my life, and now he's gone. I can't wrap my head around it."

"I know what you mean," she said. "When Seth told me he.. he cheated, I just.. didn't know what to do. I didn't want to break up with him, but what other choice do I have? I can't trust him anymore, and I don't know if I ever will be able to."

"Paige, I know he loves you. I've seen the way he looks at you."

"Obviously not enough if he needs to have sex with Ellie," Paige murmured, brushing back a strand of hair. "Dean loves you too, I've seen the way he looks at you."

"Obviously not enough if he broke up with me," AJ mocked, cringing slightly at the way he coldly laughed at her. She shivered as a cold chill ran down her spine.

"Can I just cut in and say something?" Nikki asked, looking between the two. "You know how men are, they make mistakes. They're idiots, they do stupid things."

"Your point?" Paige interrupted, arching an eyebrow.

"My point is, no matter how forgiving they are, don't forgive them. They'll think they can make mistakes like that and all they have to do is apology for you to be putty at their feet. They'll think an apology will justify cheating, when it doesn't. You both can do a hell of a lot better. Show no mercy to those bastards."

"Wow, Nikki's giving us a compliment?" AJ teased.

"And advice," Paige added, smirking. "Didn't know you had a soft spot for us, Nikki."

"I don't," she said, scowling. "I just don't want to see you both hurt again."

The room fell into silence as Paige glanced at the clock, noticing the time. They all got ready and left for the arena. Once there, they hurried to the locker room to change.

Once inside, AJ regretted just coming to work. Ellie was there, right in the middle of the locker room, surrounded by Emma, Summer, and Eva. She had the belt perched on her shoulder.

"I'm telling you," Ellie said, smirking, "it was easy. I mean, I always took her as a hard competitor, but it was_ so_ easy to beat her!"

AJ kept her eyes straight as she walked past them. Summer stepped out, making AJ run into her shoulder. She glared at her and tried to push past.

Ellie laughed. "AJ, we were just talking about you. I wish I could say it was nice things."

"Just ignore her," Paige said quietly as they all walked past them.

"I took the last thing she loved from her," Ellie spoke. "First Dean dumps her, now I take her most prized possession? She must be heartbroken. I know I would be. Maybe it's better this way, she can aim her sights lower."

AJ spun around, her hand connecting with Ellie's cheek. She stumbled back, almost falling to the ground. Emma helped her balance herself as Summer pushed AJ into Nikki and Paige.

"Watch it!" Emma shouted, going to push AJ again. Ellie pulled Emma back before she could attack. She whispered something in in her ear, which was enough to calm her down.

"We'll see you in the ring," Ellie said, glaring. She spun around on her heels and left the locker room with her minions right behind her.

"I didn't know we had a match with them tonight," Nikki said.

"We didn't," Paige said, the glare still on her face. "They probably talked Stephanie into giving them one. We all know how good Ellie is at getting what she wants when she wants it."

"Great," AJ mumbled. "Can't wait."

* * *

><p>AJ walked down the hall towards Stephanie, as she wanted to talk about their match later on. Her head was throbbing in pain from Ellie. She couldn't wait to just tear that bitch apart. But for now, she'd let her gloat about her victory last night. Everyone knows her reign won't last long. AJ's just glad Nikki and Paige aren't plotting revenge with her because they also want the belt. Unlike last time when AJ and Paige teamed up, they're against her for different reasons.<p>

Well, except AJ. She wants her title back. Nikki and Paige just want revenge.

And she's also expecting Paige and Nikki to turn on her. She doubts they will, but she has a plan in case the problem ever arises. This isn't going to be like last time, or at least she hopes.

She turns a corner and sees Dean, talking to one of his co-workers. His face is a bit red, but that might just be from the light. AJ frowns, realizing she'll have to walk past him. She remembered what Nikki told her. Show no mercy. But just looking at him brings water in her eyes, and she doesn't want to have to talk to him.

Too late. Dean saw her.

"AJ," he said, jogging up to her. He awkwardly stood in front of her, rubbing his neck. "I saw the match last night. I'm sorry. I put all that stress on you."

AJ scowled. "Yeah, I waited for that call you promised."

His eyebrows scrunched in confusion until he remembered what he told her.

_"Maybe when you're done being a bitch, I'll give you a second chance. So call me when you lose the belt, princess."_

"AJ, you know I-"

"You what, Dean? You didn't mean it?" AJ asked, placing a hand on her hip. "That's bullshit, Dean, and you know it."

His hands fell to his sides. He suddenly stiffened.

"Maybe-"

"Maybe we could what? Give it another go, just because I'm not champion? Because now I have no proof to my bragging?" she asked. He narrowed his eyes. "What happens when I get that belt back, Dean? Are you just going to leave me until I lose it again?"

"AJ, it was a mistake. I didn't mean to do all that," he said. "I didn't mean what I said. I overreacted."

"We broke up because you overreacted," she said, laughing. "You don't deserve me, Dean. Go aim your sights lower, because I have no pity for you."

She brushed past him, knowing full well he was ready to explode. She didn't bother looking back, instead waited until she turned a corner to break out into tears.

Why did she listen to Nikki? Why did she say those things? Now she has no chance of ever fixing her relationship. It's just like glass. Once it's broken it can't ever be perfect again. Sometimes it's better to leave it broken than to hurt yourself trying to fix it.

* * *

><p>Raw was finally starting, and the Divas tag team match was near the beginning. AJ skipped out onto the ramp and waited for her partner's. Paige's music now began blaring through the arena. She stood beside AJ and offered her a smirk.<p>

Nikki now came out. Once beside the other two, they all sauntered down to the ring, where they waited for their opponents.

Emma came out, along with Eva and Summer. Ellie went to the announcers table.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our new Divas champion, Ellie," Michael greeted warmly. "And how are you doing tonight, Ellie?"

"I'm amazing Micheal," she replied. "But I'll be even better once my team wins."

"We haven't seen AJ with Paige for months!" Jerry exclaimed.

"Lets hope they aren't planning on turning on each other," JBL said, chuckling.

"Oh, none of that matters. They aren't strong enough to destroy me," Ellie dismissed, smirking.

The match started with Paige and Eva. Paige stepped forward and screamed at her, successfully scaring her. She backed up into her corner and tagged Emma in, who stared at Paige with wide eyes.

Emma got into the ring and ran towards Paige, thinking if she got the first hit in she'd be okay. But Paige beat her to it and slapped her across the cheek. Emma stumbled back as Paige grabbed her head and threw her down onto the mat. She crawled on top of her and banged her head off the mat repeatedly.

Paige pulled her up and yanked her to their corner, tagging Nikki in. The Bella tossed her hat into the crowd and kicked Emma in the gut.

The three Divas kept Emma in their corner, secluding her from her own teammates. AJ had Emma in the Black Widow, and she was about to tap. Until Eva and Summer yelled at the ref and distracted him. Emma tapped out and AJ released her, not realizing the ref didn't notice because he was too busy yelling at Emma's teammates.

"What the hell, ref?" AJ shouted when the ref turned back around and didn't end the match. While AJ was now distracted, Emma tackled her from behind. She crawled over to Summer and tagged her in.

AJ managed to get to Nikki, who jumped in and clotheslined Summer. She kicked her in the side, then delivered a dropkick. She picked her up on her shoulders, setting her up for her finisher. Paige and AJ got into the ring and speared Eva and Emma off the apron. They landed on the ground with a thud.

"It doesn't seem like your teams doing so hot right now," Michael said to Ellie, who frowned.

"This is their first match together," she quickly said. "So my expectations aren't exactly very high. They're not like me, obviously."

The bell rang, announcing AJ, Paige, and Nikki as the winners. They held their hands in the air, laughing and smiling with each other. AJ sent a quick death glare Ellie's way, warning her not to take too much of a liking to that belt.

The trio walked up to the stage while Ellie bent into the ring, checking up on her teammates.

"You better get used to this, Ellie!" Paige shouted into the mic she snagged. "Because there's a lot more ass kicking in your future."

Ellie narrowed her eyes. "You didn't beat me, did you?" She didn't answer. "That's what I thought. You can beat my partners all you want, but you will never lay a finger on me. Get used to that!"

Backstage, the three got their things ready to leave for their hotel. They had an early flight the next morning and weren't exactly to thrilled.

"When do we get to the part where we can smash her face in?" Nikki asked, snorting.

"Sadly, we're not there yet," Paige replied, sighing.

They left the arena and shivered in the chilly summer night. Paige squinted her eyes, noticing Ellie getting into a rental car with someone. She bit her lip, recognizing that blonde anyway.

She was with Seth. Leaving the arena with him. Chances are they're sharing a hotel room too. Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, they did. Her eyes flickered away, not wanting the pain of seeing them together.

Like ice melts into rain, sometimes love turns into pain.


	28. Chapter 28

**I can't believe I have 75 reviews! Thanks so much! You all rock!**

**Question, do you guys have an idea for a Summer Slam match? I have one in mind, but you guys give me such great ideas that yours might be better than mine haha. Oh, and thanks to Totaldramfan123 for the revenge idea! I took your suggestion and twisted it a bit :)**

* * *

><p>Smackdown was quickly approaching. AJ, Paige, and Nikki now had a plan. Not a very smart one, but it's a start, after all.<p>

Phase one of Destroy Ellie.

They wanted to impress Stephanie, so much that she'll let them choose a match for Summer Slam. They already had one in mind. They were going to take out each of Ellie's teammates until she was all alone. After that, the_ real_ fun begins.

"Do we have a match tonight?" Nikki asked, twirling her dark hair in her finger.

"Yeah, you do," AJ replied. "Against Summer."

Nikki groaned and rolled her eyes. "That'll be easy, though."

Ellie walked into the locker room with her teammates behind her. Except, there was a new face.

"Is that Cameron?" Paige asked, raising her eyebrows. "So now she's recruiting more people?"

"Seems like it," AJ said. "You know what that means? She's scared, threatened by us."

"So she needs more people to protect her from us," Nikki finished, a smile tugging at her lips. "She can get the whole locker room for all I care. Nothing's going to stop us."

"Paige, have you talked to Seth about Ellie yet?" AJ asked, changing the subject.

"No," she replied, her eyes dropping to the floor. "I don't have the guts to just approach him and demand answers."

"Maybe he just gave her a ride," AJ said, shrugging. "You never know."

"It's nice of you to try and convince me otherwise," Paige said. "But you can quit the act. I broke up with him, so he ran to the closest woman he could find, which just so happened to be Ellie."

AJ frowned. "You don't know that."

"I do. I know Seth. He needs that kind of comforting in his life."

AJ blew out a sigh. "I'm pretty sure Dean hates me, if that makes you feel better. I took Nikki's advice- one of my now costly mistakes- and now he probably thinks I'm an even bigger bitch."

Paige snorted. "This is what happens when you listen to Nikki."

"I'm right here, you know," Nikki murmured, smiling. "You know, this gives me an idea."

"What?" Paige and AJ asked at the same time.

"If Ellie destroyed your relationship with Seth, lets destroy_ her_ relationship with Seth."

* * *

><p>Nikki strolled down to the ring for her match, with AJ and Paige on either side of her. It was pretty clear to the WWE Universe they were a team now.<p>

They watched in disgust as Summer danced down to the ring. Only Eva and Emma were at her side now. It seemed Ellie was saving Cameron for a special purpose, or she already got rid of her.

The match started and Nikki circled around the ring until she and Summer went head to head. Nikki got the upper hand and wrapped her arms around her waist from behind.

She flipped her over and backed up into the ropes, jumping onto Summer. Her elbow connected with her gut.

Nikki flung Summer into the corner rope. She ran after her, but Summer ducked down. Nikki rammed her shoulder into the corner post. Summer grabbed her from behind and rolled her up for the pin.

Nikki kicked out at two.

Summer went to kick Nikki, but the Bella grabbed her leg in time and pulled her down. She stood up and waited for Summer to stand to turn her around and put her on her shoulders. She grinned over at AJ and Paige before performing her finisher. She went to pin Summer, but Emma slid into the ring and rammed her hands onto Nikki's back.

The bell rang and Emma continued her attack on Nikki. AJ and Paige rolled into the ring, Paige going after Eva who just now entered the ring, and AJ jumped onto Emma's back.

Emma pried AJ off by elbowing her in the face. AJ stumbled back, giving Emma some time to roll out of the ring. She pulled Summer out with her and waited for Eva. She dodged Paige's hit and followed Emma out of the ring. They all backed up onto the stage, glaring at the trio.

"Just you wait!" Emma shouted. "We're not giving up that easy!"

AJ glanced at Nikki and helped her up. The three stood in the ring and watched as Emma walked backstage with that glare still intact.

* * *

><p>"So, the plan," AJ said, clasping her hands together. She sat on the hotel bed and looked at Nikki.<p>

"It's a bit childish," Nikki said, frowning. "But there are no rules saying we can't be childish. Right?"

"Right," AJ agreed, nodding. Her eyes jerked up to Paige, who was pacing. "You're going to wear out the carpet. Have a seat or something. You're making me nervous."

She glared at AJ before taking a seat beside her.

"There's only one way this will work, but.." She glanced at Paige. "If they're riding together, without anyone else, then chances are they're in the same hotel room. One of us is going to pick the lock and sneak into their room and shave one of their heads."

AJ laughed as Paige stared at her with wide eyes.

"We can't shave Seth's head!" Paige exclaimed. "He- he has such good hair!"

"Relax. We'll shave Ellie's and plant the razor near Seth so she'll think it was him. Not only will she be humiliated, but she'll now hate Seth and will quit chasing after him," Nikki explained. "See? Everyone's happy.. For now"

"I guess that could work," Paige said. "AJ? What do you think?"

"I think it's the best idea we've got right now. Who's going to be the shaver?"

They all shared a look.

"Not it!" Nikki and AJ said, their eyes glued on Paige.

"What? C'mon, that's not fair," she whined.

"He stole_ your_ man, it makes sense," AJ said, shrugging. "Can you pick a lock, Paige?"

"What do you think?" AJ raised her eyebrows. "You're right. I can."

"I figured as much," Nikki said. "If you couldn't I figured Dean taught AJ how to."

"What makes you think Dean can pick a lock?" AJ asked.

"He's Dean," she replied. "Fits his look and reputation."

AJ opened her mouth to argue but closed it, realizing she was right.

"What time should I leave to do this?" Paige asked. "And what if she wakes up while I'm.. shaving her head?"

"Don't worry," AJ dismissed. "I roomed with her when she first started, because Stephanie made me since she had no friends. She's a very deep sleeper. She slept through her and my alarm. She could probably sleep through an earthquake."

"Lucky us," Nikki said. She turned to Paige. "Is Seth a deep sleeper?"

She shrugged. "Kind of. He is after we have..." Her voice trailed off. She took in a deep breath and her voice cracked as she said, "He probably will be."

"Hey, you don't know what he's doing with her," AJ said softly.

"Face it, AJ. They're sleeping together. Why else would they be sharing a hotel room together?"

AJ bit her lip and shrugged. She wanted to stay strong for Paige's sake, but it was becoming overwhelmingly clear he chose Ellie over Paige.

They waited until around midnight for Paige to sneak in. AJ and Nikki were waiting by their door, waiting anxiously for Paige to return.

Paige froze at Seth's hotel room door. She pressed her ear against it, listening for any noises. The lights were all off, so she assumed they were sleeping. Seth always liked the lights on when he was with Paige.

She managed to unlock the door with a bobby pin. She shoved it in her boot and quietly opened the door. She left it slightly open.

Turning her flashlight, she pointed it at the bed. She saw two figures that were jumbled in the blankets. She narrowed her eyes, recognizing one as Ellie, the other one obviously being Seth. She knew they were _sleeping_ together, but it hurts to look at them. It didn't feel real until now.

Paige pointed the light at the ground and crept over to Ellie's side.

"Say goodbye to your long, blonde hair," Paige thought with a smirk. She pulled out scissors and began cutting her hair until it was short. It would be much easier to use a razor then.

Locks of her blonde hair fell down onto the blankets. Paige bit back a laugh. Ellie was going to_ die_ when she saw how she looked.

Paige managed to cut her hair until it was as short as a boys hair. She quietly moved to the other side of the bed and set them down on the dresser beside Seth. She just hoped Ellie was smart enough to put two and two together and blame Seth for doing this.

Paige stood in front of the bed, not being able to move. Looking at them, sleeping peacefully, made anger arise in her. She squeezed the razor and decided Seth needed a little payback too. Maybe this'll teach him to treat girls right and not to cheat on them, with someone like Ellie, no less.

She pointed her flashlight back to the ground and walked into their bathroom, throwing the tag from the razor away. This'll make it look more convincing that Seth actually bought it and used it. She turned around and walked back into their room, but not before tripping on her own two feet. Her hand reached out to the wall to support her, making a loud pounding noise. She froze, pressing the flashlight against her stomach. She waited a few seconds until she started to move.

But before she had the chance, a light turned on. Seth looked at Paige with wide eyes as he stirred under the blankets.

"Paige?"

This seem to wake Ellie up. Just her luck. The Diva sat up and, once she saw Paige, began shouting.

"What the hell are you doing here? Get the fuck out!" Ellie screamed. Seth looked at her and erupted into laughter. "What?!"

Ellie's hand reached up to touch her head, her eyes widening when she felt how short it was. She frantically grabbed her phone and looked at herself in it. She screamed, looking back up with Paige, who still held the razor. A new kind of fire was in Ellie's eyes, and Paige would be lying if she said it didn't scare her.

"Fucking bitch!" she shouted, jumping out of bed and running towards Paige, who seemed to freeze and couldn't move a muscle.

Phase one of Destroy Ellie was off to a_ great_ start.


	29. Chapter 29

**When this story does end- which won't be for a long time, so don't worry- do you want a happy ending or the opposite?**

* * *

><p>"I.. I can explain," Paige stuttered backing up into the wall as Ellie move towards her. "It was just- just..." Paige dropped the razor, her demeanor suddenly changing. She narrowed her eyes. "It was just payback, you bitch!"<p>

She ran towards Ellie, who suddenly grew scared- she didn't have her backup to save her. Paige tackled her to the ground and began punching her until strong arms wrapped behind her and pulled her off.

"Quit it!" Seth shouted, pulling Paige away from Ellie. "I'm sick of this drama!"

Paige coldly laughed. "Oh, you're sick of it? Then why'd you cheat, huh? Because you only started this drama your supposedly sick of."

"Paige, it's one in the morning. I'm not in the mood for one of your lectures."

Paige raised her hand and slapped Seth across the cheek. He fell backwards, onto the bed. Paige turned back to Ellie, who slammed her into the wall. She went to punch Paige but the British Diva moved her head in time, making Ellie's hand go into the wall, creating a dent. Paige kneed Ellie and slammed her hand down on her back.

"That's for fucking with my life like that!" Paige shouted, kicking Ellie in the stomach while she was bent over. Ellie stumbled back onto the ground and used the bed to help her stand up.

"I didn't fuck with your life, just your boyfriend!" Ellie shouted, smirking. Paige lost all control and pushed Ellie into the stand that held the TV. She grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the wall.

"Don't you ever learn?" Paige asked, her eyes flickering to Ellie's nosebleed. "Don't you know by now no one likes your fucking face?"

Ellie said between breaths, "Seth seems to like a few things of mine."

Paige kneed her in the gut again and tossed her aside. She backed up until she could feel the door pressing against her skin, hearing it snap shut. She glanced at Seth, who stared at her with frightened eyes. Paige looked back down at Ellie, realizing what she had done to her.

"Seth, I'm sorry," she choked out. "I'm-"

She got cut off as Ellie speared her through the door, into the hotel hallway. Ellie slammed Paige's head into the broken pieces of the door while Seth ran out, attempting to break them apart, which only resulted in him getting elbowed in the face by Ellie. He stumbled back, leaning against the wall as he held his nose, which now began bleeding too.

"Paige!" Nikki shouted as she ran out of her hotel room, with AJ trailing right behind her. Ellie stood up and punched Nikki right in the jaw.

"Fuck!" Nikki said, closing her eyes and falling down. AJ slapped Ellie before she could punch her too.

The shouting seemed to wake up half the wrestlers who resided on this floor. Emma, along with Summer and Eva, ran out. Emma ran straight for Nikki and those two began fist fighting in the hallway. Summer and Eva both went for AJ, who shoved them both against the wall. Paige and Ellie continued their fight, with Seth in the sides, trying to break apart everyone's fighting.

"What the fuck is all this noise?" Dean wondered as he ran out of his hotel room, only wearing sweatpants. His eyes widened as he took in the scene before him. Nikki and Emma were wrestling on the floor, Paige and Ellie were shoving each other against the wall and punching each other, and AJ.. AJ was fighting both Summer and Eva. Eva was lying on the floor, holding her face in pain. AJ was winning.

Until Summer elbowed her in the face. She stumbled back in pain, and Summer grabbed her head, slamming her into the wall.

"Get the fuck off of her!" Dean shouted, pulling Summer off of AJ and pushing her off to the side. Summer backed up beside Eva, who was cowering in the hotel room. They stood where the door once was. "AJ, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" AJ said, shrugging Dean off of her. She turned to see Paige pushed Ellie into Emma, Summer, and Eva's hotel room. Nikki pushed Emma in there, and Summer and Eva quickly joined them. They slammed the door behind them.

"Look at this fucking mess," Nikki murmured, glancing up at Paige. "Can't you do _anything_ right?"

"I managed to _cut_ her hair, so don't yell at me!" Paige shouted. "At least she looks like a troll now."

Nikki snickered, her eyes wandering up to meet Seth. She smirked and moved closer to Paige.

"I bet he's regretting cheating on you even more now," she muttered, loud enough for Paige to hear, who shot her a death look.

"Paige, why were you in our hotel room?" Seth asked. "What the hell were you doing in there?"

"What the fuck does it look like I was trying to do?" Paige asked. She walked closer to Seth. "Maybe if you hadn't of cheated on me-"

"Save the crap, Paige!" Seth said. "You're just looking for excuses to do shitty things to Ellie!"

"You're just a coward, Seth," Paige said, narrowing her eyes. "If you ever come near me again I will _kill_ you. Remember that when Ellie comes to her fucking senses and ditches you. You'll come groveling back, begging for another chance. But, guess what, Seth? When that happens, I'm going to say fuck you and do this!"

She punched him in the jaw, then stormed back to her hotel room. Nikki and AJ shared a quick look before going into the hotel room after Paige.

"Why do we have such bad luck with girls?" Seth asked, as a bruise began to form on his jaw. He rubbed the spot and groaned in pain.

"You can crash in my room if you want," Dean offered, ignoring his question. "I'm sure someone will find this mess eventually."

He walked back into his room, leaving the door open for Seth who, after a few seconds of thinking, followed him in.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe what you two have done," Stephanie said, shaking her head at the trio. "I want to know who broke into Ellie's hotel room and ruined her hair<em> and<em> ruined the hotel room, and I want to know _now_."

AJ could tell Stephanie was beyond angry. She glanced at Paige, who opened her mouth to answer.

"It was me," AJ quickly said, ignoring the looks from her friends. "I thought it would be funny. I thought Ellie just needed laugh- I didn't think it would escalate into everything it did. I'm sorry."

Stephanie narrowed her eyes at AJ. "It was you? Hm. I figured Nikki."

Nikki scoffed. "Thanks, Steph."

She ignored her. "AJ, what you did was wrong. You violated Ellie- a fellow co-worker- and now you must face the consequences."

AJ took in a deep breath. "Yes, ma'am."

A smile tugged at Stephanie's lips. "I'm going to grant you a match at Summer Slam."

"Really?" AJ asked, perking up. "That doesn't seem-"

"You didn't let me finish. You are going to be in a gauntlet match. You'll fight Summer first. If you beat her, then you'll fight Eva right after. If you beat her, then you fight Emma. And if you somehow manage to beat her, you'll face Ellie. Beat her and you're the winner."

AJ swallowed. "Okay, seems easy enough."

"You still didn't let me finish," Stephanie said, smiling. "Each match will have a different stipulation. Your opponent will choose the stipulation they fight you in."

"Are you trying to kill her?" Paige asked. "Because if so, you're going to do a pretty good job of it."

"Here at WWE we try to teach violence, unless in the ring, is strongly frowned upon."

Nikki snorted. "Are we allowed to be ringside, at least?"

Stephanie sighed, glancing at AJ. "Fine. I'll show mercy. You two can be at ringside."

"Well.. Thanks for that," AJ murmured.

They left the office and Paige grabbed AJ's arm.

"Why did you take the blame?" Paige asked.

"I was the one who said you should do it," she said, shrugging. "It makes sense I get punished."

"AJ.. But now they're going to kill you out there."

She cracked a smile. "Maybe. Maybe not."

* * *

><p>It was Monday Night Raw again. Ellie and her minions had a promo, where they would announce their stipulations for each match.<p>

The crowd began cheering when Ellie's music began playing. She walked down the ramp and into the ring, with Emma, Summer, and Eva behind her. Each of them carried a mic.

"It's come to my attention that Summer Slam is in a few weeks," Ellie said, smirking as her eyes travelled across the audience. The Divas belt was wrapped around her waist. "And I've got the match of a lifetime. AJ will be fighting all of us in a gauntlet match. And, best of all, we get to choose the stipulations."

The crowd cheered while Summer cleared her throat.

"She'll be fighting me first," Summer began. "And the stipulation we're going to be in?" She smirked and glanced over at Ellie. "An extreme rules match."

"And if she manages to be Summer, she'll move on to me," Eva said. "The match we're going to be in is a tables match."

"If, by some chance, she beats Eva too, she'll face me," Emma spoke. "We're going to wrestle in a lumberjill match!"

The crowds cheering grew louder. They stomped their feet and waved their signs.

"I'll be her last opponent," Ellie said. "She may stand a chance against them, but not me. Our match will be in is a.. steel cage match."

The crowd cheered until their throats were dry. The crowd seemed to like Ellie and her group. They supported her, because they didn't know how much of a bitch she really was.

AJ's music began playing and she skipped onto the stage with Paige and Nikki on her sides. She brought the mic to her mouth, pausing to let the crowd boo her.

"Ellie," AJ started, "I love the haircut."

Ellie scowled, reaching up and running a hand over it. They had it professionally trimmed, and it was now shorter than even Dean's.

"I'm sure you would," she spat, glaring.

"Ellie, you can put as many stipulations as you want," AJ said, smirking. "It won't stop me from getting to you. You got lucky beating me for that title, but I promise you, I won't make the same mistake again."

"You losing isn't a mistake," Ellie said, laughing. "You lost from a lack a _talent_. It's a miracle you even managed to get that belt."

"For the third time, might I remind you," AJ added bitterly. "You can prepare all you want for Summer Slam, but the fact of the matter is that I'm going to beat your little sidekicks, and when it's just you and me in that steel cage.. Things are going to get brutal and bloody. So I hope you're ready for that."

She smirked and dropped the mic, skipping backstage with her two partners at side. Ellie stole a glance at Emma, who was glaring at the stage. She hated it more than Ellie that Paige was teamed up with someone else.

"So, what's the plan for Summer Slam?" Nikki asked on the ride to the hotel room.

Paige took her eyes off the ride and glanced at AJ, who rode shotgun. Nikki was stuck in the back.

"We're going to fight fire with fire," AJ said, her eyes flickering to the mirror that showed Nikki. "What else can we do?"

"What about Seth?" Nikki asked. "What are we going to do about him?"

Paige forced a stiff shrug. "What can we do? We're over. Done."

"Paige, don't say that."

"AJ, you can call me out on this when you refuse to even talk to Dean," Paige said. "At least I'm talking to Seth."

"Yeah, just to call him out on his bullshit," Nikki said, snorting.

Paige rolled her eyes. "I'm just going to let him drown in his guiltiness until he fully realizes what he did and what harm it caused."

"That's my plan too," AJ said. "Refuse to even look at Dean. He'll see how much I really did for him. He'll see how much he misses it."

Paige shook her head. "Yeah, but you can be much more forgiving. Dean didn't cheat, he just dumped you."

AJ scowled. "Right before he was going to propose, might I add."

Paige widened her eyes, looking at AJ, then to Nikki who wore the same surprised expression.

"What?" Nikki asked.

"You heard me. He was going to propose and I ruined it."

"You didn't ruin it," Paige quietly said.

"Yes, I did. I blew my chance of being married to him, of kissing him at the altar, of being a _wife_ or even a mother. I ruined it all, just because of the belt."

"Power does that to people," Nikki said.

"I'm sorry, AJ," Paige said, frowning. "I didn't realize it was that serious."

"Maybe we shouldn't just get revenge on Ellie," Nikki said. "We have some room to get even with Seth and Dean, too."

Paige grinned, already liking the idea. It took AJ a few moments, but then she too smiled.

"We'll just have to get a little more creative," Nikki spoke, running a hand through her hair. "We'll just fight this fire with _more_ fire."

But then again, those who fight fire with fire only end up with ashes.


	30. Chapter 30

"Hey! Watch it buddy," Nikki said, glaring. She trudged past him after he collapsed into his seat, ignoring the scowl on his face. She glanced down at her ticket, her eyes flickering up until she found her seat. She shoved her bag into the compartment and sat down in the seat next to the window. She watched as Paige put her bag in and took a seat beside her, with AJ following her lead right behind her.

"This is going to be a long flight," Nikki said, leaning her head against the seat, letting out a sigh.

"It's only like, two hours long," Paige said, raising her eyebrows. She tapped her fingers on the armrest. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she dismissed. She didn't really want to spend the entire flight complaining about her personal problems. They had_ much_ bigger problems.

"Has our tweet gone viral yet?" AJ asked, leaning over Paige.

"Hold on," Nikki replied, pulling out her phone and quickly checking before the plane started. "Yeah. It's gone viral."

Paige laughed. "I can't believe I could convince Seth to send us that picture of her.. It's so embarrassing."

"I know, and now the whole world saw it!" AJ said, laughing with her.

"Hey now," Nikki said, shooting Paige a look. "I was the one who convinced Seth to give me that picture. You played no part in it, so don't try and take the credit."

"How did you convince him, anyway?" AJ asked as the pilots voice could be heard throughout the plane.

Nikki shrugged, remembering how she slammed him against a wall and forced him to take one and send it to her or else she would cut off his private parts. "I, uh.. I threatened him."

"What?" Paige said, widening her eyes. "What'd you say?"

"Just stuff.. Things," Nikki said, shrugging. She didn't want Paige to know what she actually did, for some reason.

Paige and AJ seemed to be satisfied with the answer, knowing they wouldn't be able to get a and relaxed as the plane began moving. Nikki rested her head against the window and watched as the ground began to fade away.

Nikki's thoughts kept drifting back to her sister. She felt so bad for her, she feels like she let her down. She didn't save her in time, and it feels like all the blame could be pinned on herself. She knew she couldn't wait as long as Paige and AJ could to get their sweet revenge on Ellie. This called for drastic, extreme measures.

Ellie attacked her family. Her own flesh and blood. That's more personal that some man who could be in your life temporary. Who knows what Ellie plans to do when Brie returns. And Nikki wants to make sure she isn't planning _anything_.

She wanted to do this by herself, without her partners. But having the backup help wouldn't hurt.

They arrived at their hotel late at night. They all crashed in their beds as sleep took over the instant their heads hit the pillows. Nikki, however, stayed up and thought of new revenge ideas for Ellie.

Paige and AJ woke up a few hours later as the sun began to rise. They decided to hit the gym.

"It's nice to have a peaceful, relaxing day like this," AJ said as she hopped onto the treadmill and turned it on.

"You call this relaxing?" Paige joked, taking the treadmill beside her as Nikki claimed the other one. "Just teasing. I'd much rather be here than on some beach."

Nikki frowned. "That can be debatable."

"Yeah," AJ agreed, smiling. She remembered the last time she was at the beach. Not too long ago. It was the last happy day she had with Dean. If only she knew that, she would have savored those precious moments.

"What kind of match do you think we should have for Night of Champions?" Nikki asked.

AJ bit her lip, keeping her eyes locked on her moving feet. Night of Champions would be a year exactly from when Paige decided to team up with her to take down Nikki. It's so unreal how far they've gotten.

"We should go for Summer first," Paige finally said, casting a glance to AJ. "We'll wear her down until it reaches Night of Champions."

Nikki nodded in agreement. "Okay, that sounds good."

"Then we'll go for Eva," AJ said.

"And that leaves us Emma," Paige said. "Which then leaves us Ellie, all alone."

Nikki squinted her eyes, looking past AJ and Paige to see a dark hooded figure disappear behind the corner. She tilted her head, wondering why that person seemed familiar. It's not like someone was eavesdropping on them or anything, that's crazy.

But, when dealing with Ellie, crazy's practically her middle name.

* * *

><p>They arrived at the arena Monday Night Raw would be held in and received a script, which stated Paige and Nikki were in a tag match against Naomi and Layla. They walked to the locker rooms together and talked about match strategies until they arrived. Ellie and her minions luckily weren't in there yet. They always arrived late to everything.<p>

Nikki turned her head to the side, examining the hallway before she entered the locker room. Once again, she saw the same figure she saw a couple days ago at the gym. She shrugged it off and continued in.

"Layla won't be too hard," AJ said. "Naomi, on the other hand.. Might be a bit harder."

"I don't know, that butt of hers is pretty vicious," Paige said, laughing. Suddenly the locker room door opened and Natalya poked her head in.

"Hey guys, Stephanie's holding a mandatory meeting," Natalya said, motioning to follow her.

They all shared a look before shoving their clothes into their bag and following Natalya. They followed her into the gorilla where several Superstars and Divas were standing around, talking quietly. Stephanie stood in the center, tapping her foot anxiously. When she saw Natalya, she clapped her hands together.

"Alright, everyone," Stephanie announced, her eyes skimming over each wrestler. "As you know, SummerSlam is coming up. I've been doing some thinking with the Creative and I decided we're going to do something different. I want this SummerSlam to be the best one yet."

"What is it we're going to change?" A Superstar asked.

"Well," Stephanie began, clearing her throat, "This idea came to me when I was spending some quality times with my daughters. I realized I don't see them enough, and I decided Hunter and I are going to go on a little break, a vacation, if you will."

"Break?" AJ asked in a low voice, looking over at Nikki and Paige.

"The Authority- Hunter and I- are going to go out of power. Short explanation is a group of Superstars we have yet to choose are going to compete in a match against my husband, and if the Authority loses, we're not going to be the authority anymore."

Hushed voices rang out as everyone took this in. Stephanie waited until everyone quieted down to continue.

"The match will be an elimination tag. There will be five players on each side. Tonight, for Raw's Main Event, Hunter and I will announce those who will be on our team. If you want to be chosen, I suggest you prove to us tonight that you are worthy of being on our team. We have chosen the leader of the opposing team. We feel he's proven to us he is fully capable of leading and representing his team." She smiled at everyone. "We decided on Daniel Bryan. He will be choosing who will be on his team tonight during the Main Event."

She smiled at everyone and left the gorilla. The Superstars and Divas began to disperse as they talked about SummerSlam.

"This is.. New," Nikki said as they sat on one of the crates.

"I wonder if one of us will be chosen to be on the team," Paige said.

"It won't be me," AJ said, half-snorting. "They won't make me suffer through_ five_ matches."

"Ellie might be in Team Authority," Paige said.

"That makes me hope I'm chosen to be in the other team," Nikki spoke, running a hand through her hair.

From a distance, the same hooded figure Nikki saw twice now smirked. She turned and leaned against the wall so they wouldn't see her. She pulled down her hood and adjusted her hair.

"If they want to be chosen," Cameron started, "I'm sure Ellie will make sure they don't impress Stephanie tonight."

* * *

><p><strong>I decided to kind of copy what happened during Survivor Series, only it won't take place then. I didn't want to wait until the story reached that PPV. Do you guys have any ideas on who should be on Team Authority and Team Daniel Bryan?<strong>


	31. Chapter 31

**So, I already have the ending to this figured out- there are two. One will end the whole entire series, the other will need another story to go with it. Do you guys want _another_ sequel? Or is this enough? I won't be hurt if you say this one is enough, I promise. Just tell me what you honestly think. Thanks!**

* * *

><p>"This is my house!" Paige screamed as she kneed Layla in her midsection repeatedly, then tossed her off the apron. She smirked and bent down through the ropes, getting back into the ring. She tagged Nikki in, who ran down the apron and jumped onto Layla, knocking her over again. She looked over at AJ, who sat at the announcers table, and gave her a smile.<p>

She rolled Layla back into the ring and pinned her. She kicked out at two. Nikki huffed out a sigh and pulled Layla up, pausing when music began playing. She shoved Layla and turned around to see Ellie standing on the stage. Summer Rae, Eva Marie, and Emma trailed behind her. They all wore the same glare.

Layla grabbed Nikki from behind and rolled her for the pin. Nikki barely managed to kick out in time. She kept glancing back to Ellie and her minions throughout the entire match. She couldn't focus her attention on Layla.

Nikki managed to block a hit from her, which resulted in her tagging Paige in. Paige charged into the ring and clotheslined Naomi each time she jumped back up. Nikki pulled herself up on the apron and looked behind her at Ellie, narrowing her eyes when she saw Summer and Eva were walking down the ramp, slowly approaching the ring. Nikki hopped off the apron and stood in front of the ring, placing her hands on her hips. Summer and Eva stopped, standing a few feet in front of her, grinning.

While Paige was down, Naomi slid out of the ring, kicking Nikki right in the back of her head. Nikki stumbled forward, giving Summer and Eva an open to move forward and begin attacking Nikki. Naomi turned around and Paige grabbed her, performing the Paige Turner. She dragged her to the middle of the ring and pinned her.

AJ ran around the ring and jumped onto Summer and Eva, knocking them off Nikki. She threw Eva into Summer, pushing them against the barricade. Ellie and Emma began walking down the ramp when Paige slid out of the ring, after successfully pinning Naomi. She helped Nikki up and the three teammates stood side by side, daring Ellie and Emma to walk down that ramp and face them.

But they didn't. They stayed at the top and sent death glares to AJ, Paige, and Nikki.

Backstage, the trio waited until the Main Event started so they could find out who was going to be on who's team.

"I think we've managed to impress Stephanie, right?" Paige asked as they walked to the locker room.

"We've been impressing her from the start," Nikki said, sticking her head up high. "If we don't get chosen, then we don't. There's nothing else we can do about it."

They opened the door to the locker room and was immediately greeted with tension in the air. It was abnormally quiet and they couldn't help but blame Ellie.

"What's going on?" AJ asked as they moved further into the room, towards their bags. "It's kind of.."

"Awkward," Paige murmured, coughing. "Weird."

A few of the Divas shared a look before one of them stepped forward.

"We just think you're hogging all of the spotlight," Alicia Fox said, sticking her nose up. "You three and Ellie and her damn crew. Taking all the attention away from us."

Nikki snorted. "Maybe there's a reason for that, don't you think?"

Alicia raised her eyebrows, moving forward. "Excuse me?"

"We work out asses off to get the TV time we do," Nikki said. "So you can't say we're stealing it all away when we've been earning it."

"Are you saying we don't work our asses off?" Natalya asked, standing beside Alicia and placing her hands on her hips. "That's a load of crap, Nikki. I work my butt off more than you all do."

"You're all talk, Nat," Paige said, narrowing her eyes.

"If I was granted an opportunity at the title, I guarantee you I would win," Natalya said, poking herself in the chest. "But, Stephanie doesn't favor us as much as she favors you."

"Are you saying we kiss up to them?" AJ asked, swiveling her head to gape at Nikki and Paige.

"We know you do," Alicia piped in, glaring.

"That's bull_shit_, and you both know it," Paige said. "Now, if you mind, we have a Main Event to get ready."

"You don't even know if you're going to get chosen to be on their teams," Natalya said.

"Obviously we will," AJ said sarcastically. "We kiss their asses, remember?"

She smirked and the trio grabbed their things and left, leaving Natalya glaring at the door.

* * *

><p>Later on in Raw, the Main Event finally came. Stephanie and her husband walked into the ring, with Seth Rollins behind him. He never gave up on the Authority and never stopped being their little bitch. They had him on a leash and he didn't seem to mind.<p>

"You're all aware of what we're capable of doing, right?" Triple H asked. "You all know we're the Authority, and if you mess with us, you_ burn_ in our hellfire."

"No one can take us down or destroy us," Stephanie said. "But with what my father said at the beginning of the show, there's going to be a match at SummerSlam to prove that. Of course, we agreed because we know we're _unstoppable_."

"Team Daniel Bryan seems to think they have what it takes to beat us at our own game," Triple H said. "They're just wasting their breath. But, as we promised Vince McMahon, we each made our own teams."

"Team Authority will consist of our WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins," Stephanie began, "And Bray Wyatt, come on out here!"

Bray Wyatt's music hit as he slowly made his way down to the ring. He took his place behind Stephanie and Triple H.

"Why don't we introduce our third player," Stephanie said, turning to the screen as music began playing. The crowd stood up and began cheering loudly. "Brooooock Leeeeesnar!"

Brock jumped in place on the top of the stage, then walked down the ramp, towards the ring. Paul Heyman trailed behind him with a smug smirk on his face. They stood behind Stephanie and Triple H in the ring, beside Seth and Bray.

"Our next team player is-"

Daniel Bryan's music cut Stephanie off as he stood at the top of the stage with a microphone.

"Stephanie, I feel honored that you would have Brock Lesnar on your team," Daniel said. "You can get the Hulk for all I care, you still won't be able to beat Team Bryan. Let me introduce my teammates now, because frankly I don't care who your last two are."

Stephanie scoffed as music began playing. Dolph Ziggler threw his hands up in the air as he stood beside Daniel, giving him a pat on the back.

"That's right," Daniel said, grinning. "Dolph Ziggler. My next teammate-"

Dean Ambrose's music began playing. The crowds thunderous cheering echoed throughout the arena as he cracked his knuckles, standing on the other side of Daniel.

"I've convinced the Lunatic Fringe to be on my team." Daniel grinned. "Now, lets see. I have two teammates missing. Why don't I bring out some Divas?"

A moment of silence followed as Stephanie glared at the stage, already figuring out each players weaknesses and figuring out how to use it against them.

"Nikki and Paige!" Daniel announced. Paige's music came on and the two came out, looking a bit worn out from their match earlier. They had on bright smiles, though, as they were glad to be chosen, and even more glad that they weren't on the Authorities side.

"That's the best you could do?" Stephanie asked, snickering. "Why don't we bring out the Divas Champion for our team?" Ellie's music began playing as she skipped out and down to the ring, ignoring the looks she was receiving from Nikki and Paige. "Another Diva I need.. Hm. Lets bring out an NXT favorite.. Charlotte!"

The blonde Diva made her way down to the ring and smiled at Stephanie, who returned the smile. She stood next to Ellie who was whispering in her ear.

"You're team looks a little pathetic, Daniel," Triple H said, glancing behind him at Team Authority. "Take a good look at our team, then take a good look at your own."

"What else should we expect from B+ players?" Stephanie asked, looking at her husband, who chuckled.

"You can save the insults, Steph," Daniel said, stepping up. "We'll see you at SummerSlam, and we hope you won't be too sad when you lose your Authority positions because of us."

"Like that would ever happen!" Stephanie said. "You better be ready, Daniel. You all better be ready! Come SummerSlam we're going to make you all our _bitch_! You're all going to suffer the consequences when we win!"

"It'll be all worth it when we win and you're both out of power!" Daniel shouted back. His music began playing and he left the stage with his team following behind him. Nikki and Paige stole a glance behind them. The last thing they see is Ellie's smirk and narrowed eyes.


	32. Chapter 32

"Come on Seth, have a little fun!" Ellie said, grinning as she twirled her body around. "Loosen up a bit and live a little!"

Seth took another swig of his beer and danced with Ellie at some random nightclub they found on the way to the hotel. He tried to loosen up and have fun, he really did. But he just couldn't bring himself to actually have fun dancing with Ellie. This wasn't his kind of night.

Somewhere in between the chaos of getting to this nightclub and ending up on the dance floor, Ellie managed to get tipsy. _Now_ she was drunk and spilling her beer everywhere. Seth hated himself for letting himself get into this mess, his kind of perfect night would just to be snuggled up with Paige as she drifted off to sleep. But no, like all the other things in his life he cherished, he ruined it. He ruined it because of Ellie.

And now that she's got him in her web, she's not letting him go.

No, she has other plans for him.

"Seth! Lets get out of here!" Ellie shouted, leaning close to Seth and pressing her body against his. "Lets go back to the hotel!"

He ran his tongue over his lip, looking down at her. She was a pretty girl, with her now short blonde hair. She was tall and tan, the kind of girl that other girls would envy. But she wasn't the kind of girl Seth wanted. No, he wanted a British raven-haired Diva who was sarcastic, yet very awkward and sweet.

He just wanted Paige.

"Come on!" Ellie said, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of the loud building. Once outside in the fresh air, Seth took a deep breath and opened his mouth to say something, only to close it once Ellie slammed her mouth into his.

"Ellie-" He pushed her off of him, attempting to get a bit of space between them.

"What, Seth?" Ellie demanded, putting her hands on her hips. Her eyes were turning into a dark, stormy blue. Seth has grown accustom to those eyes, that meant Ellie was about to brew up a storm.

"I just don't feel like doing this tonight," he said, looking her straight in the eye to show he meant it. "Okay?"

"Seth, you promised me," she said, a smirk tugging at her lips when she saw his expression harden. "Don't you remember? If you don't do as I say, I will destroy Paige. I will ruin that bitch, you remember now?"

He closed his eyes. Of course he remembered. It haunted him every night.

"Unless you're changing your mind," she said, raising her perfect eyebrows. "She won't take you back, nor will she believe you. You won't have me, and you won't have her. You won't be able to protect her, Seth."

He opened his eyes again, hoping Paige would be standing in front of him instead of Ellie.

"Lets just go back to the hotel," Seth said softly.

Ellie smirked. "That's what I thought. Clearly you know what's best for Paige."

His eyes drifted down to the pavement. "Yeah," he muttered, studying each little crack in the pavement. But each little crack only reminded him of his broken relationship with Paige. "Clearly."

* * *

><p>Dean slammed the glass of beer down, waving the bartender over to refill it. He's grown accustomed to nights ending like this. Or, in his case, starting. He'd come back to the hotel from a long workout at the gym, then take a shower and leave for the bar, where he'd spend the rest of his night.<p>

Sometimes he wouldn't even drink, he'd just be alone with his dark thoughts. He'd spend all night wondering why he did what he did and how he could possibly fix them. Though he never actually thought of a solution.

He wanted so badly to go to AJ, to tell her he's just scared of his own feelings, but communication isn't exactly easy for him. He's texted her, called her, everything, but he can't work up the nerve to go see her in person. He doesn't know what he would say or how to even start. She just ignores him anyway.

Dean doesn't even know what's gotten into his old pal Seth. There's no way Dean would ever hook up with other women, which his highly unlike him. Usually he jumps from woman to woman, but he hasn't even looked at one since AJ. He knows AJ's got him wrapped under her finger, even if she doesn't realize it. He'd be there in a heartbeat for her, and she won't even give him so much as a glare anymore.

It's like she's just magically erased all her feelings and memories she ever had of him.

Which only breaks Dean's heart even more.

He would rather her be angry and pissed off at him. He'd rather have her give him the death glare ever time she sees him than to just flat out ignore him. He wants her to feel some sort of emotion towards him. He wants her to be angry.

Dean doesn't want her to be over him already. He knows he's screwed up, and he knows AJ can do a hell of a lot better than him. AJ deserves someone who won't make the mistakes he has. He wishes he was the kind of guy who said and did all the right things. But he's not- and AJ deserves someone who is.

That's why he's letting her go.

He knew what he had, and he cherished every moment he got to spend with her. He just never thought he would lose what he once had.

* * *

><p>"What time is it?" AJ asked, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.<p>

"Almost nine," Paige replied, stifling a yawn. She got out of the bed and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. AJ glanced to her right and saw Nikki was still in bed, tangled with all the blankets. She let out a quiet laugh, then got out of bed and shook Nikki's body. "Hey, Nik. Get up."

Nikki stirred and opened her eyes, glaring at AJ.

"I was sleeping," she said.

"Not anymore," AJ said, grinning. "SummerSlam is this Sunday, we should spend our time working out and getting ready for the big matches."

"Noooo," Nikki said, running a hand through her hair. "Lets spend our time relaxing."

Paige finally emerged from the bathroom and chimed in, "I actually agree with Nikki. If we work out day and night until Sunday, we'll be too tired to wrestle."

AJ folded her arms over her chest. "Since when do you take her side?"

Paige rolled her eyes. "Okay, you can go work out all by your lonesome self. Nikki and I are.. Nik, what are we going to do?"

"Go to the pool," Nikki said, smirking. "It's almost the end of summer, we should enjoy it."

AJ let her arms fall to her side. "Yeah, going to the pool does sound enticing.."

Nikki smiled. "I knew you'd come around."

Half an hour later the trio walked side by side to the hotels pool. Nikki went straight for the lounge chairs to work on her tan, Paige headed for the hot tub, and AJ went for the actual pool. She could get in some exercise while enjoying herself at the pool.

Several Superstars and Divas were hanging around the pool, relaxing and enjoying the sunny day. Everything, at the moment, seemed perfect. Ellie and her minions were no where to be seen, Seth and Dean were also not there.. Nothing could ruin their peaceful day.

"AJ!" Nikki shouted, sitting up and glancing at the pool. "We're here to relax, remember?"

AJ got out of the pool and walked towards Nikki, tugging at the ponytail her hair's in. She sat down on the chair next to Nikki and smiled.

"I'm having fun, bug off," AJ said.

Paige approached her two friends and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her body.

"I feel like we've been here for hours," she said, frowning. "I hope I didn't tan."

"Don't worry, you're still pale as ever," Nikki said, rolling her eyes.

"Good," Paige said, shooting Nikki a nasty glare, who stuck her tongue out in response.

"Do you see that girl?" AJ asked, squinting her eyes.

"Who?" Paige replied, swiveling her head to look behind her. "I don't see anyone over there."

"No.. There was someone with a hat and sunglasses on," AJ said, frowning. "I just thought it was weird because she was looking at us and- I don't have my glasses or contacts in- but it looked as though she was smiling."

"That's weird," Nikki murmured. "I've been seeing this person everywhere we go.. It's probably just a coincidence."

"Maybe not a coincidence," Paige said, looking back and forth between the two Divas. "It can't be-"

"Ellie," Nikki finished. "It's not. She doesn't walk the same way."

AJ snorted. "That's creepy, Nikki."

"Shut up," Nikki retorted, folding her arms over her chest. "It could be Summer or Emma, or Eva."

"I don't think so," Paige said, then shrugging. "Oh, who knows. We could be over looking it."

AJ rolled her eyes, glancing at Nikki. "Is she new at this, or..?"

"Apparently," Nikki teased, poking Paige.

"Sorry I'm not an expert on_ revenge_ like you two are," Paige said.

"Don't worry," AJ consoled, "You'll get there with some help, of course."

They all shared a laughter and spent the rest of the day enjoying the peace. Overlooking the pool, Ellie stood by the window to her hotel room and smirked as she watched the trio lounge in the hot tub. She was just waiting for her perfect chance to strike.

"This is going to be the best plan I've come up with yet," she said, laughing softly before taking another peak and closing her curtain. She turned around to face Seth, who was sitting on the bed, watching TV. "You're going to help me with this, right?"

"Do I have a choice?" Seth mumbled, changing the channel and sighing.

"We're going to end this summer with a_ bang_," Ellie said, taking a seat next to Seth. "Remember what I told you, okay?"

Seth offered a sarcastic, small smile.

"We're going to humiliate them on Raw, so much that they'll be too humiliated to even show their faces in public," Ellie said, grinning. "Step one- get AJ out of the picture. We'll have some fun with Nikki and Paige first."


	33. Chapter 33

Sunday. The day several families spend time together doing whatever they so choice to do. The day many fans watch sports or go to church or even just spend time with their loved ones. The day many people spend relaxing and enjoying their time off.

For wrestlers, this Sunday only meant one thing. The biggest PPV of the season that every wrestler looked forward to.

SummerSlam.

Nikki, AJ, and Paige spend long hours relaxing and working out to get ready for their matches. They kept their distance from Ellie and her minions on Smackdown, although they did notice the extra death glares they were receiving.

AJ slipped Paige's leather jacket on and put Nikki's hat on, smiling at herself in the mirror.

"I don't match at all," she commented, tilting her head to the side. "I have red on, purple.. They don't match."

"Oh well," Nikki said, coming up beside her. "You won't be wrestling in your hat and jacket anyway."

"You look much better in our merch than in your own," Paige joked, standing on her other side.

The trio stared at their reflections in the mirror. To everyone else, they were just three ordinary women standing in front of a mirror. But to them, they were an indestructible team.

"AJ! You're on," a crew member said, pointing at AJ.

"Here we go," AJ mumbled. She could hear her music, along with the crowds mixture of cheers and boos. Nikki and Paige went first, pushing past the curtain and out to the stage with bright smirks. AJ closed her eyes and put on her best smile, then skipped out to the awaiting crowd.

Together the trio skipped down the ramp and AJ got into the ring. Summer Rae's music began playing, and she danced down to the ring alone. She got into the ring, her eyes not leaving AJ for a second.

"Like what you see?" AJ sarcastically said as the ref went over the rules. The match started and Summer wasted no time in pouncing on AJ. She pulled on AJ's hair, clawing and pounding her head viciously.

AJ shoved her off and ducked down as Summer jumped over her. She spun around and was greeted with a slap. AJ stumbled back as Summer pushed her against the ropes. She bounced back and clotheslined Summer.

"C'mon AJ!" Nikki shouted, slamming her hands against the apron. She glanced at Paige, who took a seat at the announcers table.

"Do you think AJ stands a chance of even lasting until her match against Ellie?" Michael Cole asked.

"It doesn't hurt to believe she will," Paige said, cocking her head to the side. "Does it?"

He shrugged. "You and Nikki are in a match tonight.. How do you feel about that?"

Paige's eyes flickered from the match to Michael. "I am in a match. Glad you've noticed, Michael. And I'm feeling pretty confident."

Summer fell down onto the apron, then collapsed onto the floor below it. AJ slid out of the ring and pulled her up, flinging her to the corner post. She kicked her over and smiled sadistically.

"Looks like AJ's enjoying this," Jerry said, resisting the urge to snicker.

"Who wouldn't?" Paige muttered. "If only it were Ellie in that position."

AJ pulled out numerous chairs and tossed them into the ring. She slid back in and picked one of the chairs up, grinning down at Summer. She raised the chair and brought it down on her back. Summer cringed and screamed out as AJ continued to take all of her anger out on the blonde. She didn't know what came over her, but staring down at Summer made her blood boil.

"AJ!" Nikki shouted, staring at her with wide eyes. AJ froze and looked at her. "Cool it, okay?"

She tossed the chair aside and pinned Summer, who barely managed to stay in. AJ stood up and grinned at the crowd, then skipped in circles around Summer until stopping in front of her. Summer pulled herself up while still holding her shoulder. AJ backed up into the ropes and attempted to put her in the Black Widow. Summer ducked and flipped her out of the ring.

AJ landed on the floor with a thud as Summer jumped out of the ring, landing on top of AJ. Nikki rounded the corner, stopping when the ref began glaring at her. It _was_ an Extreme Rules match, so she couldn't get AJ disqualified.

Summer stood up and kicked AJ in the gut until an elbow connected with her head. She toppled down beside AJ as Nikki kicked her in the back, sending her flying forward.

Nikki looked down at AJ and offered her hand to the Diva. She accepted it and moved to Summer, grabbing her and forcing her into the ring. She slid in after her and waited until she sat up to perform Shining Wizard. She pinned Summer, who didn't kick out.

Summer rolled out of the ring as Eva Marie's music began playing. The redhead walked onto the stage, pausing to blow the crowd a kiss, then continuing down to the ring. AJ backed up and narrowed her eyes.

"The following match is a tables match!" Lillian announced, introducing AJ's competitor, Eva. The ref rang the bell, starting the match. AJ and Eva went head to head until Eva wrapped her arm around AJ's neck. She flipped her over and squeezed harder, applying pressure to her neck.

"AJ managed to defeat her first opponent, Summer Rae," Michael said. "With the help of Nikki, though."

"AJ could've defeated Summer on her own," Paige said, glaring to her left at Michael. "Friends like to help out other friends. I'm sure you aren't familiar with that, given you're.. well, views on things."

Michael scoffed. "Well, that's not very nice."

JBL grinned. "I'm liking you more and more, Paige."

Paige rolled her eyes, biting her tongue to keep from making a comment. Instead, she turned her attention back to the match. AJ leaned a table against the corner rope and turned around, right into a kick from Eva. She fell against the table but luckily didn't break it.

Suddenly, Ellie's music began playing. Eva looked up at her teammate to see she was just standing on the stage, watching. Eva smirked, hoping to impress her with the match. She backed up and ran towards AJ, who dodged out of the way. Eva slammed her shoulder into the table and leaned down, not heavy enough to have broken it. Ellie remained on the stage as Nikki stood right in front of the ring, daring her to come down and face her.

AJ set up another table outside the ring. She slid back in and got onto the corner rope. Eva hopped back up and ran towards her, but AJ elbowed her in the face. She grabbed Eva and pulled her up onto the ropes until she was higher up. Glancing behind her at the table, AJ pulled Eva over her and suplexed her onto the table.

The bell rang and Nikki helped AJ up as a swarm of Divas made their way out to surround the ring for the upcoming lumberjill match. Almost every single Diva came out, and almost every single one of them hated AJ.

AJ got back into the ring and waited until the Divas were all out for her opponent to come. She peaked behind her at Paige, who offered her an encouraging smile. Emma finally came out and the ref immediately rang the bell. The two opponents ran towards each other, but AJ was much weaker than Emma, which gave her the advantage. The first thing the blonde Diva did, though, was throw AJ out of the ring.

Divas began punching and kicking AJ everywhere. Nikki just made her way over as they pushed AJ back in. Paige even took her headset off to join Nikki circle around the ring.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Emma yelled as she kicked AJ in her midsection. She let out a scream and paused to give Paige a cold smile, to which she flipped her off. Emma laughed and turned her eyes back to AJ, who was lying on the mat.

She put her foot on her back and grabbed her arm, pulling it up as hard as she could without breaking it. AJ let out a high pitched noise, squeezing her eyes shut. Emma released her arm and turned to her leg. She lifted AJ's leg up, then dropped it back down on the mat with as much force she could muster.

Emma continued to have the upper hand in the match until AJ managed to push her over the ropes and out the ring. The Divas that were in that area- Alicia, Natalya, and Naomi- just backed up, not wanting to mess with Ellie. They've seen what she's capable of, and they do not want to get on her bad side.

Paige and Nikki, however, weren't afraid of making Ellie angry. They stormed over to Emma and began attacking her, just like how the other Divas attacked AJ. Paige kicked Emma in the gut while Nikki slammed her head down on the ground. After a few seconds of the attack continuing on, the other Divas pulled Nikki and Paige up and began attacking_ them_.

Emma managed to get back into the ring while Nikki and Paige tried to fight the Divas off. The Divas backed away from them, leaving them lying against the barricade. AJ peaked over the ropes, checking to make sure they were okay. Nikki and Paige stood up and AJ forced a smile, turning around right into Emma's elbow to the face.

She fell down as Emma lifted her leg and pinned her. The ref slammed his hand down once.. Twice..

Paige grabbed the refs leg and pulled him out of the ring before he could reach the third count. Emma got out of the ring and jumped off the apron, shouting at Paige and Nikki. All the Divas then forced Emma back into the ring. They weren't like Ellie- they wouldn't outright hurt Nikki and Paige again.

AJ used what strength she had left to put Emma in the Black Widow. She tried to get out of the hold, but couldn't, resulting in a tap out. AJ released her and backed up as she glued her eyes to Ellie, who was still on the stage. Ellie brought the mic to her mouth, hesitating as her music stopped.

"Wow.. I'm surprised you lasted this long," Ellie began. "I didn't think you could make it. I guess I underestimated you. But, you're probably used to that. And you're also probably wondering why I'm not in that ring, fighting you in a steel cage match.. I have a match later tonight, a match that is far more important than this one. I've already beaten you once, AJ. There's no need to prove my dominance again."

AJ looked at Nikki and Paige, who have gotten in the ring with her. She went through all those matches for nothing?

"Maybe we can wrestle another time," Ellie said, shrugging. "I don't have that much time to wrestle rookies, AJ. I'm in the big leagues now. Something you probably aren't too familiar with."

"Oh please!" AJ spat into the mic an official handed her. "You don't even have enough skills to match rookies, Ellie. If you don't want to wrestle me, then fine. Just remember, I'll be waiting for that_ perfect_ moment- the moment you won't expect- to rip your throat out. You throw me to the wolves I return leading the pack! You can't beat me, Ellie, you're too _scared_. Scared to accept the truth: That I am a better champion than you will ever be. You just got lucky- and luck has_ nothing_ to do with talent."

AJ dropped the mic as her music began playing. She won all three matches, and for what? Just so Ellie could waltz on out and declare she didn't feel like having her match. She was the damn champion, she should start acting like one.

Now all that was left was the match everyone's been waiting for: _Team Bryan_ VS _Team Authority_.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so I finally managed to come up with an idea for the sequel, if you guys want one. Pretty much everyone said they did want sequel, but I don't want the story to be longer than it should be. It's totally up to you guys whether we have one or not. It just seems like there aren't as many reviewers as I had in the beginning, and I'm sorry if the story has gotten a bit boring. I'll try to get it more interesting and exciting, if you want.<strong>


	34. Chapter 34

**So I guess I'll definitely be doing a sequel :) And I can't believe I've reached 100 reviews! You guys rock and make this story worth it. If it wasn't for your support, this story wouldn't even have_ this_ sequel. Thanks everyone!**

* * *

><p>"Introducing first- Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar, Bray Wyatt, Ellie, Charlotte: Team<em> Authority<em>!"

Stephanie McMahon and Triple H came out first, followed by Seth, Bray, Brock, Ellie, and Charlotte. They circled around the ring before entering with smirks on their faces. Stephanie waited until the booing died down to talk.

"I want each and every one of you to take a good, hard look around you," Stephanie said to the audience. "What do you see?"

"You see our company, WWE. You see the ring thousands of wrestles of wrestled on," Triple H. "And when we win tonight, you'll realize you could've lost this. You could've lost the joy and entertainment you receive from us! Because you know damn well if we lost this place would go to hell."

Stephanie looked to her right at the stage. "When Team Bryan loses, there are going to be repercussions. You can't just turn on the authority because we won't give you what you want," she said in a baby voice. "When we win, every member on Team Bryan will be_ fired_."

"Except Daniel," Triple H added. "We aren't letting him off the hook that easy. No, he needs to realize what he tried to do. He needs to realize you don't disobey the Authority."

Daniel's music began playing and he walked onto the stage with Dean, Dolph, Nikki, and Paige behind him. He didn't have a mic to talk into, instead he glared at the Authority before turning sideways and jogging down the ramp with his hands thrusting into the air as_ Yes _screams escaped his mouth.

He stopped right in front of the ring, turning around and whispering to his teammates. He wanted to give them a quick good luck and any last minute advice.

He then walked up the steps and onto the apron, glancing around to see who would be wrestling first. Stephanie and Triple H both got out of the ring and stood in front of the announcer's table, hoping to get a good view of their team winning. Seth decided to wrestle, so he got into the ring. Dolph gave him a smirk and got into the ring as well. But, before the match could start, Seth began attacking Dolph. All the members of Team Bryan got into the ring to break it up, resulting it Team Authority to attack them. It was utter chaos in the ring.

Stephanie and Triple H were yelling as several refs ran down the ramp. They eventually managed to break it up, leaving Seth and Dolph alone in the ring again. Pain was written all over Dolph's face as he held his ankle.

"My ankle, I can't wrestle!" he said, holding it and trying to balance at the same time. Seth only threw his head back and laugh. "I think it's broken!"

Plan Eliminate Dolph was a success.

"That's too bad," Stephanie said as the ref helped Dolph backstage. "Looks like you guys are out a teammate!"

"Wait just a minute!" Daniel said into a mic he grabbed. "You can't do that, the match didn't even start. C'mon, I've known the Authority to be unfair, but this unfair?"

Stephanie shared a look with her husband. "Maybe that was unnecessary. We want to apologize.. For you being so naïve to think we wouldn't pull something like that!"

Daniel scoffed before saying, "Actually.. I expected this. So I'd like to introduce our replacement for Dolph."

There was a silent pause before Stephanie began laughing. "I knew you couldn't-"

She stopped as music began playing. She widened her eyes and looked at Triple H, who wore the same surprised expression. She looked up to the barricade where a Roman Reigns was jumping over it. He paused, giving Stephanie a quick wink before entering the ring. Seth's eyes grew wide and he backed up into the corner ropes. He didn't want to wrestle Roman, his old teammate.

The ref hesitated before ringing the bell. Roman charged after Seth, who quickly tagged in the first person he could reach- Charlotte. She shyly entered the ring, and Roman backed up, not wanting to hurt a woman. He turned around and shrugged, tagging Paige in.

Paige bent over the ropes as Charlotte hit her, knocking her over. She stumbled into the corner ropes, holding her face in pain. Charlotte backed up until she had enough room, then charged after Paige. The British Diva ducked in time and Charlotte's shoulder hit the corner post. Paige grabbed her from behind and rolled her up for the pin. The ref counted once, then twice, and a third.

Stephanie widened her eyes to see a team player eliminated so quickly. She swung her head to the side to look at her husband, who wore a stern look. They had so much on the line, they couldn't mess this up now. There's no way the Authority could be out of power, how would WWE even function?

Charlotte left the arena as Ellie stepped into the ring. She walked right up to Paige, narrowing her eyes at her.

"Too afraid to hit me, Ellie?" Paige asked, laughing. "Couldn't face AJ, couldn't face me.. What's with you today, hm? Did you lose your ability to wrestle or something?"

Ellie shoved Paige, only hard enough to back her up. She laughed at Ellie's pathetic attempt.

"Oh, wait," she said, raising her eyebrows at Ellie. "You can't _lose_ what you _don't_ have."

Ellie shoved Paige harder this time, hard enough for her to stumble down to the mat. Ellie got on top of her and began head butting her continuously. Paige kicked her off and backed up to the ropes, glancing at Nikki and tagging her in.

The Bella got onto the corner rope and Paige threw her off, watching with a grin as she landing smack on Ellie. She got back on the apron and stood next to Roman, not wanting to get too close to Dean. AJ may be over it- or at least act like she is- but Paige was still mad as hell. She sometimes thought about how much she now cares about Nikki and AJ. So many things have changed in the past months.

"Come on Ellie!" Stephanie shouted, slamming her fists down on the apron. Ellie delivered a flawless dropkick to Nikki and dragged her to her corner, glancing at her teammates before tagging Seth in.

Seth awkwardly got into the ring and backed up, giving Nikki space. He didn't want to wrestle a girl, though he has before. Nikki now stood up and ignored Ellie shouting at Seth to hit her. She approached him and smirked. Seth's eyes flickered to Triple H in confusion, wondering why Nikki hasn't tagged one of her male teammates in.

Nikki raised her hand and reared Seth in the jaw. He fell back and leaned against the ropes as a nasty bruise formed on his jaw.

"That's for Paige you dickhead," Nikki growled, kicking Seth right where it would hurt the most. He bent over and squeezed his eyes shut in pain. "That's what you get for breaking her heart, you asshole!"

She kicked Seth on his neck, knocking him off his knees. Refusing to look at Paige, she bent down and smirked at the pain on his face. She roughly grabbed his head and began slamming it down on the mat. She let go and stood up, dragging him over to the corner rope so he couldn't reach his teammates. Nikki raised her hand out, not even looking to see who it was that slapped it. She pushed Seth against the corner rope and Dean began punching him in the chest.

Nikki took Dean's place and leaned across the space so she could tap Paige.

"Paige," she called out. "Paige!"

The raven haired Diva turned to face her. "_What_?"

"I'm sorry if I upset you," she said, frowning. "Just looking down at him made me so.. Angry."

She shrugged. "It's fine, it doesn't bother me anymore. I'm over it."

Nikki could tell the weak, strained smile Paige gave her was fake. She was putting up a front just to protect herself. She didn't want to get hurt, and she didn't want to continue moping over Seth. But Nikki knew it would be a while before she was fully over it.

Dean and Seth wrestled back and forth until Dean got distracted by Triple H and Seth got a blow to his head in. He pulled Dean to his teammates and tagged Bray in.

But Dean knew all of Bray's moves from when they feuded earlier on in the summer. He was a simple man, and Dean knew how to get into his head, which is exactly what he did. He even managed to pin Bray and eliminate him.

Now Team Authority had two players gone.

Stephanie was freaking out at ringside as Triple H tried to console her. Seth was in the ring wrestling Roman when Stephanie grabbed her husbands sleeve and yanked her to him.

"It's time for our Plan B," she whispered, her eyes flickering up to Brock Lesnar, who hasn't been in the match once yet.

"You got it," Triple H said, nodding. He casually walked over to him and tapped his leg. Brock looked down at him, a smile creeping on his face as he realized it was time for the plan.

Triple H waited until Seth was looking to give him the raised eyebrows and nod towards Brock. Seth had a surprised look on his face but it quickly disappeared as he turned back around to Roman. He waited until he was down to tag in the Beast.

Brock Lesnar slowly got into the ring and approached Roman Reigns, who was no coward. He didn't back away from Brock, instead moved closer to him so he could look him right in the eye. Everyone was quiet, no one made a move. Until Stephanie jumped up onto the apron.

"Roman! Don't get eliminated!" she mocked, grinning from ear to ear as Roman turned to her, distracted, and Brock Lesnar picked him up for his signature move, the move that very well ended Superstars careers. He gave Stephanie a wink before dropping and pinning Roman.

Brock eliminated Roman.

"_Y_es!" Stephanie said, smiling over at Daniel. Daniel ignored her and now came in to wrestle Brock. For a while, things were looking good for Daniel. Until Brock got him on his shoulders and pinned him, successfully eliminated _Daniel_ now.

"Ha! There goes your leader!" Stephanie grinned, her tongue poking out of her teeth. She hopped off the apron as Paige got in to wrestle. She stood in the corner and tilted her head.

"Aren't you going to tag someone else in?" Paige asked, narrowing her eyes and taking a step forward. Nikki took in a deep breath as she watched her partner practically sign a death wish.

Brock didn't say anything, instead stayed right where he was standing. Paige kept inching closer, daring him to strike.

"Didn't type you to be a coward," Paige trash talked, stopping mere inches in front of him, poking him in the chest. "What's a matter, Brock? Can't wrestle a girl because you know we have more balls than you ever will?"

He clenched his fist and moved to hit her. But before he could reach, Seth called out.

"Hey!" He got into the ring and turned Brock around. Paige backed up into the corner with an evil grin on her face. "Don't you touch her, you hear me? I will destroy you myself if you go near her!"

Brock showed no emotion on his face. "Get back to your corner, Rollins. Before I _make_ you."

Seth didn't wipe his angry expression off his face as he got back on the apron. Brock turned around, right into Dean's fist. He set him up for Dirty Deeds and then pinned him, successfully eliminating Brock.

Stephanie slapped her hand on her face and dragged it down to her chin. Plan B was a fail. Too bad the Authority that they were good enough to not need a Plan C. They could really use one right now.

Ellie got into the ring and Dean tagged Nikki in. She shot him a nasty look as his hand slapped her hand, to which he ignored and took her spot. It didn't take long for Nikki to get Ellie on_ her_ shoulders for the Rack Attack. Only Ellie jumped off and elbowed Nikki right in the gut. As she was bent over, Ellie performed her finisher move on Nikki. She lifted her leg and pinned her, smiling over at Paige as the ref slammed his hands down on the mat three times.

Stephanie cheered and high fived her husband as Paige entered the ring. Nikki rolled out of it and fell onto the ground, scooting over to the barricade as she regained her energy.

But it seemed the trio's luck vanished after AJ's matches. Because not soon after, Ellie eliminated Paige. She rolled out of the ring and took a seat next to Nikki, giving her a weary smile.

"That was good effort," Nikki said, smiling as she placed her hand on Paige's knee. "We tried."

Paige looked back up at the match and watched on as Dean had to eliminate Ellie. The Diva didn't kick out after he performed Dirty Deeds. She too took a spot on the ground, her back leaning against the barricade on the opposite side of Nikki and Paige.

Now all that was left was Dean and Seth.

"You know what I call this?" Dean asked, tightening his grip on Seth's neck. "I call this _payback_ for all those months you spent torturing me."

Seth elbowed Dean in the face, knocking him off balance. Dean reared back and knocked Seth over with a clothesline. He put Seth in his finisher and pinned him. The ref slammed his hand down once... Twice..

Triple H grabbed the ref's leg and pulled him out of the ring. Seth didn't kick out and Dean stood up, thinking he won when he didn't. Nikki and Paige stood up and walked to the side where Stephanie, Triple H, and now the ref were.

Ellie jogged up to them and hit Nikki in the head with her fist, causing her to fall back on Paige. The two landed on the ground and didn't stir. Dean leaned over the ropes and shouted at them.

"You fuckin' ref!" he shouted, glancing back at Seth. "I wont that you pie-"

The words died on his lips as Seth grabbed him from behind and rolled him up for the pin. Triple H pushed the ref back into the ring, who began counting. Dean managed to kick out at two.

Seth stood up just as Dean did, and for a moment the two stared at each other before Dean kicked him. Seth bent down and Dean, with an excited grin, backed up into the ropes and curb stomped Seth.

He pinned him again and, this time, Triple H got into the ring and pedigreed the ref before he counted to three. He then grabbed Dean but, before he could pedigree him, music began playing.

Triple H glared at the stage and dropped Dean onto the ground. His eyes followed the skipping figure as she made her way to the ring. She got in just as Ellie got into the ring.

"Ellie," AJ said, smiling. "Looks like we will be fighting after all."

She moved to her and hit her in the nose with her forearm. Ellie dropped down and rolled out of the ring. AJ turned back to Triple H who gawked at her. AJ clenched her fists and moved towards him.

"Hey now, lets not get-" Triple H started, raising his hands in the air as AJ speared him. She got onto the corner rope, but before she could jump, Stephanie grabbed her from outside the ring and threw her onto her teammates who were just now standing. AJ collided with the two bodies and they fell down in a heap.

Triple H stood up and quickly pedigreed Dean before he could get back up. He then dragged Seth on top of Dean and helped the ref get back to his feet, who then quickly began counting.

One..

Two..

_Three_!

* * *

><p><strong>I bet you're staring dumbfounded at your screen, wondering why the hell the Authority won.. In time, my loves. In time this will make sense. For now, you can leave me a review :)<strong>


	35. Chapter 35

"Last night at SummerSlam, we proved to you all that we are truly invincible," Triple H said during the beginning of Raw. "We did what no one though we could do, what no one _wanted_ us to do."

"And now that we won," Stephanie said, "We're going to have to carry through with our promises."

The crowds boos only made her smile grow.

"So, everyone who was on Team Bryan, why don't you all come on out here," Triple H said, raising his eyebrows. "I believe there is some firing in order."

The crowd lost their voice as Daniel Bryan's music began playing and he walked onto the stage with his teammates behind him.

"You want to fire us, really?" Daniel said, tapping his chin. "I always thought you helped the less fortunate, not punished them."

Stephanie narrowed her eyes. "Don't think you can mess with our mind, Daniel."

"I would never," Daniel said, placing his hand over his heart and plastering a fake frown on his face. "I'm just saying, shouldn't you be helping us become as great as you two are, instead of taking the easy way out and just firing us?"

"I don't know what the hell you're trying to do, but it's not going to work," Triple H spoke.

"I'm not doing anything," Daniel said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Only insinuating that you two are cowards that enjoy the easy way."

"We are most certainly not cowards," Stephanie said, her glare burning holes into Daniel.

"Really? Oh, my bad. I just assumed you were since you're just going to fire us instead of owning up to your actual job and help us become better, become like you two," Daniel said. "Don't you want WWE to be as invincible as it can get? Then bad move firing us."

Stephanie clenched her fists together. "We do not take the easy, _baby_ way out of things. We are not cowards and we will not tolerate listening to you spout trash about us!"

"I'm not spouting_ trash_," Daniel said, grinning. "Only the truth. I'm sure you two can never tell the difference."

"That's it!" Stephanie said, leaning over the ropes, her glare still intact. "We won't fire you. Happy?"

"That does make me happy," Daniel replied. "I'm glad you're stepping up to your position and treating us like actual employees."

"Oh, wait, you didn't let me finish," Stephanie said, lowering her head. "We won't fire you, under the conditions that _everyone_ on Team Bryan has to abide to our rules and do whatever we say. It doesn't matter if we ask to you to go the moon, you listen and go there without complaining. Because if I hear a single complaint or if I see someone not listening to us, you're _all_ fired. Are we clear?"

"Yes, we're very clear." Daniel smirked, looking around at his teammates satisfied expressions. They'd rather that than be fired.

Stephanie smiled. "Good. Now, we're going to start this so called punishing. Nikki, you're in a handicap match against Alicia Fox and Natalya starting right now! And don't think you can get help from your partners," she said. "I won't allow that. Unless you want your punishment to be more.. Severe? Then go right ahead."

* * *

><p>Nikki grunted in pain as she landed on the mat. From the sidelines, Paige and AJ cheered her on. Luckily they were able to be out here to support her.<p>

Alicia delivered a clothesline to an almost standing Nikki. She laughed at her misery and tagged in her other partner, Natalya. The blonde Diva pulled Nikki up and suplexed her. She tried to pin Nikki, but she kicked out at one.

Natalya and Alicia kept making quick tags. They wanted to have some fun before they actually pinned her for the win.

Alicia had her back to Nikki and was yelling at the crowd. She smirked and threw her hands up in the air, then turned around into Nikki's slap. She bent down and picked Alicia up on her shoulders for her finisher move.

Natalya got into the ring and dropkicked Nikki, causing her to drop Alicia. The ref yelled at Natalya to leave the ring, so she did. Paige and AJ looked helpless from the sides, they couldn't help her or they'd be fired.

Alicia wiped her mouth and pinned Nikki for the win. She let go of her and jumped up and down in victory as Natalya rushed over to hug her. Paige and AJ grabbed Nikki and pulled her out of the ring as they glared at the two jumping Divas.

Backstage, Nikki slumped down against the wall and took another chug of water.

"How long do you think these punishments will last?" Nikki asked.

Paige shrugged. "I don't know. However long they decide to keep the feud up."

The doors to the locker room opened and Ellie waltzed in with Emma, Summer, and Eva behind her. Ellie's face was red and it looked like she was yelling.

"Trouble alert," Nikki muttered.

"I can't believe you two!" Ellie said, walking to her bag and slamming her hands down into it. "Can't you ever do anything right?"

"We didn't mean to," Summer snapped. "We're human, we make mistakes."

"You didn't mean to?" Ellie laughed. "Nice excuse, you bitch. Maybe next time you'll have enough talent to win!"

"Ellie-" Emma started but got cut off.

"I'm not yelling at you," she said before turning back to Summer and Eva. "You two need to learn how to wrestle if you want to even be a part of this team!"

"Team?" Eva asked, snorting. "This is barely a team, Ellie. You always boss us around and bitch at us for not doing things right. You know what, I can't even remember why I agreed to this!"

"Come to think of it, I can't either," Ellie said, poking her in the chest. "I think you just wanted to take my title from me."

"What?" Summer widened her eyes, looking at Eva. "Like we would do that! Newsflash, Ellie. Everything's not about you, we're actually_ loyal_ friends!"

"Friends? You think we're friends?" Ellie choked out. "We're not friends, we're coworkers."

"We're partners," Eva said, narrowing her eyes.

"You're both just my little _bitch_," Ellie retorted, putting her hands on her hips. "And quite frankly, you aren't very good at it."

"Like we even knew we were that!" Summer exclaimed. "I thought we were teammates, not your freakin' pets!"

"Then maybe next time you shouldn't just jump to conclusions!" Ellie shouted. "You know what, just get out of my face. I can't look at either of you right now."

"So, what? You're kicking us out now?" Eva asked.

"I don't know, I haven't had much time to_ think_ about it," Ellie snapped. "Get out my face you scumbags!"

Eva and Summer glared at her as they left the locker room in a hurry. Nikki, AJ, and Paige all shared a look.

"Wow," Paige said quietly as Ellie and Emma talked in hushed voices. "I didn't realize things were so.. rocky for them."

"This gives me an interesting idea, actually," AJ piped in, her eyes flickering to Ellie. "She just said to Emma to go on to the bar without her because most likely Summer and Eva are going to be there. You know what we should do?"

Paige and Nikki looked at each other before shrugging.

"Okay, I'll do all the thinking here," AJ said, rolling her eyes. "We should make sure Eva and Summer don't make up with Ellie."

"Anything that involves making Ellie suffer some more," Nikki began, grinning. "I'm all ears."

After Raw they decided to pay Summer and Eva a visit in their hotel room. It made sense they would both share one.

"Remember," AJ said in a quiet voice. "We get in there, do this, and leave."

"Oh, c'mon AJ," Paige spoke. "Can't we have some fun with this?"

"No," she answered, narrowing her eyes. "What do you think's gonna happen if we don't finish before they come back?"

Paige rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay. We won't do anything besides what we're supposed to do."

"Thank you," AJ said as they approached the hotel room. Paige went to pick the lock but found it was already open. She turned to give AJ and Nikki a weird look but then shrugged and opened the door.

Nikki went ahead to see if they were in there. Luckily, the room was empty. They_ were_ at the bar.

"You said Ellie stayed back tonight, right?" Nikki asked as the lights turned on.

"Yeah. I saw her leave the arena with Seth, so she's staying with him," Paige said, frowning. "Of course she'd rather be with_ my_-"

"Paige," AJ said, raising her eyebrows. "I thought you said you were over this?"

Paige took a deep breath. "I am, I am."

AJ bought it and crossed the room to the bed. Nikki kept her eyes on Paige and watched her take out the spray paint from her bag. She could see past the lies, she knew Paige was broken. And she knew Paige wouldn't admit it.

"What should we write on the wall?" Paige asked as she stood in front of the wall.

"Think of something clever," Nikki said, shrugging.

Paige thought for a moment. "How about I write, '_Next time bitch don't lose and assume we're cool'_?"

Nikki walked over to Paige and raised her eyebrows while AJ laughed. "That's the best you could come up with? Really?"

Paige shrugged. "I don't know what Ellie would say."

"How about.." Nikki tapped her chin. "_Mess with me like that again and you're dead_.._ Bitch._"

Paige began writing that as AJ ripped the blankets off the bed and spray painted _scumbags_ on them.

"What if Eva and Summer don't think Ellie did this?" Paige asked, shaking the can.

"Oh, they will. After the fight they had earlier, they'll believe it."

"When are we going to talk to them?" Nikki asked.

"Smackdown," AJ replied. "I don't want to talk to them too soon because we might come off as creepy, or they might think we did this, but.. We can't wait too long."

They went back to vandalizing the hotel room until they had everything done. There was paint everywhere, the room was a mess, and they couldn't_ wait_ until Summer and Eva saw this.

"I think we're done here," Paige said with a proud smile as she spun around, looking at everything they ruined. She pulled her hair out of the ponytail it was in and grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulders.

"Perfect timing, too. It's getting to be late," AJ said, looking at the clock. "Almost midnight."

"Lets-" Nikki stopped midsentence as she heard talking outside the room. She heard laughing, and by the sounds of it, Summer and Eva were drunk. She looked at Paige and AJ in panic, quickly moving to the lights to turn them off. She shuffled them inside the closet by the door. Just as she closed it, the hotel room door opened. Nikki closed her eyes and hoped they wouldn't look in the closet.

"I know, right? What a bitch," Eva said, scoffing as she flipped the lights on. She seemed to sober up in two quick seconds as her eyes surveyed the room. "What the_ fuck_?"

They moved further into the room as Summer looked down at the bed and Eva read the words on the wall.

"Who fucking did this?" Summer asked. "Are we in the right room?"

"Uh.. The key worked?" Eva replied, sitting down on the bed where there wasn't pain. "God, this was Ellie, wasn't it? What a_ bitch_!"

"Is this her way of saying we out?" Summer asked, beginning to freak out even more. She began pacing in the room as she ran her hands through her hair. "Should we call the police?"

"No!" Eva said, throwing her arms up in the air. "Do you know what Ellie would do to us? She'd fucking kill us!"

"What do you think I want to do to her now?" Summer asked, feeling like her head was going to explode. "It's because we lost the match, because we let her down, isn't it!"

"I can't believe the nerve of that girl," Eva said. "To think she would actually come in here and vandalize our room! Who does that?"

Paige snorted, causing Nikki to elbow her. She grunted in pain, quickly closing her mouth. Luckily Summer and Eva were still a bit too tipsy to hear.

"What are we going to do, huh?" Summer asked, stopping in front of Eva and leaning down to her face. "Should we clean this? Leave it hear and explain to the hotel management our psycho friend did this to us as a way of kicking us out of the group? Should we go to her room and demand answers? Should we-"

"Summer, take a breath," Eva said, her body relaxing slightly when Summer took a seat next to her. "We're going to clean this, because we're not going to give Ellie the satisfaction she wants."

"I'm drawing a blank.."

"We're going to show her we don't need her to survive in the WWE," Eva said, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's two less people she has defending her from fucking Nikki, AJ, and.. Paige, yeah."

AJ quietly giggled inside the crammed closet. Nikki shot her a look, warning her to shut up unless she wants to be caught.

"Okay, lets start cleaning," Eva said, standing up and going into the bathroom. "Oh yeah, Summer?"

"What?" she answered, inspecting the pillows that had nasty insults written all over them.

"Where's my suitcase?"

Paige widened her eyes, looking down at the suitcase she was kind of standing on.

"Um." Summer looked around the hotel room. "I don't know!"

"I think it's in the closet," Eva said to herself as she walked out with wet towels. She tossed one to Summer, who began cleaning the walls. "I need my phone."

"Fuck," Nikki muttered under her breath, pressing her hands to her side.

"Your phone?" Summer jerked her chin to her purse. "You left it in my purse. I took it from you because you were drunk calling Stephanie.. Remember?"

"Right," Eva said, smacking her palm against her forehead. "I guess I'm still a little intoxicated."

"Yeah, I'm surprised you were drinking," Summer admitted, then kicked the wall. "This stupid paint won't come off!"

"Let me get the walls," Eva said, rolling her eyes. "Go take the pillow cases off, we'll take them to a laundry mat tomorrow."

"Yes sir," Summer teased as she did as told.

Paige, Nikki, and AJ were stuck in the closet for the next hour, listening to Summer and Eva talk about everything. They now know too much about those Divas. It wasn't until they heard them snoring that they quietly left the closet, then left the hotel room.

"Oh god, that was so close," AJ said, wiping her forehead as she waited for the elevator.

"I almost had a heart attack," Nikki said, walking into the elevator once it opened. She pressed the button and watched the doors close.

"At least they suspected Ellie and not us," Paige said. "But oh man, do I have to pee.."

AJ scrunched her nose as Nikki laughed.

They went back to their hotel room and called it a night, thankful their plan was a success. Now all they had to do was get rid of Emma, then Ellie would be an open and vulnerable prey.


	36. Chapter 36

**Okay, so I've been hearing a lot lately about where John Cena is. I wasn't sure about what to do with Nikki, if I should include John or someone else. Is there anyone in specific you want to be with her? Or John Cena all the way?**

* * *

><p>"I didn't mean what I said," Ellie reminded Emma as the walked towards the Divas locker room. Smackdown finally arrived and Ellie was ready to forgive Summer and Eva, after apologizing. "You know I was just talking out of my ass."<p>

"I don't know," Emma said, smoothing out her blonde hair. "They seemed pretty upset."

"I'm sure they'll forgive me after I apologize," Ellie said, adjusting the belt around her waist. Come Monday Night Raw she'd have to defend it against some puny loser, but odds are she'd retain it. She did believe she was the best and only the best.

Emma opened the locker room door and Ellie ushered in, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw how furious Summer and Eva were.

"What?" Ellie asked, taking a glance around the locker room.

"What the hell's your deal, huh?" Eva asked, throwing her clothes down onto the bench.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ellie said, moving closer to them so Emma could walk in behind her. "I'm here to.. apologize."

Summer laughed. "Too late to apologize, Ellie."

Ellie raised her eyebrows. "All I did was-"

"Vandalize our hotel room?" Eva answered for her. "Kick us out of the group? Yeah, we kind of got the message."

"The hell are you talking about?" Ellie asked, raising her eyebrows. "I never did any of that."

"Right," Summer said, snorting. "You expect us to believe this? C'mon, we're not that dumb."

"Clearly you're dumb enough to accuse me of doing things I never did," Ellie snapped.

"We know you snuck into our hotel room and vandalized it! You _ruined_ everything in it!"

"I didn't vandalize shit," Ellie said, folding her arms over her chest.

"Oh yeah?" Eva asked, jerking her chin to Ellie's bag that was laying on the floor near them. Ellie had arrived earlier than they had and left for some refreshments. "I bet you still have the spray paint, and I bet it's right in there."

"Please."

"Fine," Summer said, crossing over to the bag and bending down, beginning to rummage through it.

"I never gave you permission to snoop through my bag!"

Summer pulled her hand out, holding the spray paint can. Ellie's eyes widened as Summer shook it.

"Look familiar, huh?" she asked, examining the can. "It's even the same color, almost empty.."

"You're.. You're going to accuse me of doing all this, just because you found some can in my bag?" Ellie asked, pulling on her hair. "That was clearly put in there by someone else, because I sure as hell didn't put it in there!"

"Ellie," Emma said, taking a step away from her. "Why would you do that?"

"I didn't!" Ellie said, throwing her hands in the air. "I swear-"

"Pretty convenient that it was the night of the fight," Eva said. "And you didn't want to go to the bar with us. It all makes sense, Ellie. You snuck into our room and destroyed everything that was in it. Everything. There's even evidence right there screaming you're the culprit!"

"Are you calling me a criminal?" Ellie asked. "A liar? A fucking bad friend?"

"If the shoe fits," Summer retorted. "And, last time I checked, we weren't friends. We were coworkers, or better yet, just your_ bitch_."

"We're done with you, Ellie," Eva added. "Though by the looks of it, you're already done with us."

Ellie scoffed before leaving the locker room with Emma right in tow. Summer and Eva shared a look before exhaling a sigh of relief.

"Our plan worked," AJ said, high fiving Nikki and Paige. "I told you it would."

"Smart last minute idea to put the spray paint in her bag," Nikki said to Paige, giving her a high five too.

"Now all that's left is Emma," AJ said. "Then Ellie is all alone and vulnerable."

"You know, we've really come far as a team," Nikki said. "But.. Something's been on my mind as of late. What are we going to do when Ellie's gone?"

AJ and Paige looked at each other, biting their lip. This has crossed their minds too, more than once.

"I don't want us to just be those coworkers that act like they like each other but secretly don't," AJ replied.

"Me neither," Paige agreed. "I've enjoyed us being a team."

"Yeah, I've really enjoyed us taking down all the _injustice_ in WWE," Nikki said, smiling. "It's kind of fun, actually."

They all shared an intense look, not knowing that one day in the distant future, that very well might happen.

* * *

><p>"You can do it, Paige!" AJ shouted from outside the ring, watching on as Paige was in a match against Naomi. Only Paige had her hands tied behind her back. Just another punishment enforced by the Authority.<p>

Paige managed to kick Naomi, knocking her off her feet. She backed up into the ropes and tried to jump onto her back, but she rolled out of the way. Paige stumbled over, not being able to stand up as fast as she normally could.

Naomi delivered a bulldog once Paige stood, then pinned her for the win.

AJ and Nikki immediately entered the ring and began attacking Naomi. The ref untied Paige's hands as she watched her friends beat Naomi up.

"This isn't fair!" JBL exclaimed over at the announcers table. "It's a two on one assault!"

"And you think Paige having her hands tied behind her back is fair?" Michael Cole retorted. "The Authority don't care if it's fair or not, they only care about running their business."

Naomi managed to escape the ring and escape the brutal assault. She walked up the ramp, running her hands over her hair to smooth it out. Nikki and AJ glared from the ring and helped Paige steady herself.

Backstage, Ellie began talking to Emma as she ate a muffin. She rested her elbows on the table and scoffed.

"Can you believe that they just accused me of that?"

"Did you really do that, or..?" Emma asked, picking a piece of muffin off and shoving it in her mouth. "They seemed to really believe they were telling the truth."

"I didn't! God, Emma, I expected you to believe me."

"No, I do," Emma quickly said, shoving the rest of the muffin in her mouth to avoid answering anymore questions.

"The nerve those girls have," Ellie spoke slamming her fist down on the table. "The fucking nerve."

"I just don't think Summer and Eva would lie about that," Emma said, swallowing the last piece of muffin. "They don't seem like they would lie. They're nice people! What would they have to lie about?"

"It's jealousy, I bet. I have the title, a gorgeous boyfriend," Ellie said, quickly adding, "And a loyal best friend.. You know, you."

"You don't really have a boyfriend," Emma said, feeling herself grow small when Ellie shot her a nasty look. "Well, I know how you're keeping him stay with you.. Not really stay with you, but.. Stay with you."

"Emma," Ellie said, tilting her head to the side as her eyes studied the blonde. "You seem nervous."

"Oh, I'm not," Emma said, glancing down at her fingers, pretending to get distracted by her pink nail polish. "I'm not.."

Ellie arched a brow, glancing up when she heard footsteps approach her.

"Cameron," Ellie said, nodding. "Hear anything interesting from dumb, dumber, and dumbest?"

"Actually, I did this time," Cameron said, smiling. "Turns out AJ, Paige, and Nikki were the ones who vandalized Summer and Eva's hotel room. They tricked them into thinking it was you."

"Hm," Ellie said in response, looking over at Emma, who avoided her gaze. "Interesting."

"What do you plan on doing about it?" Cameron asked. "I have a few ideas up my sleeve-"

"I plan on letting them have this small victory," Ellie replied. "They'll need it after I destroy them with my bare hands. As for Summer and Eva, well, I hope they can survive in this place without me."

Cameron nodded, taking a deep breath. "What next?"

"Go continue spying on them, see if you can overhear some more juicy gossip or something," Ellie said, shooing her away. "And try to be sneakier, I heard Nikki's seen you a few times?"

Rolling her eyes, Cameron said, "I can't exactly just disappear out of thin air."

"Then go work on that," Ellie said, shooing her again. "Leave, now."

Cameron sighed and left, not before grabbing a muffin.

"You still seem tense, Emma," Ellie said, resting her hands on the table.

"This just gets to me sometimes," Emma said, sighing. "I'm fine. I'll be fine."

"Okay.. Then lets get out of here," Ellie said. "We've got work to do."


	37. Chapter 37

"I just can't believe they would do all this," Ellie said, falling back onto the bed. She'd explained to Seth everything that happened with Summer and Eva. "I mean, they didn't even believe me. I thought they trusted me?"

"Who in their right mind would trust you?" Seth murmured.

"Seth, you should be comforting me, not insulting me," Ellie said. "I just lost two very valuable people from my team."

"It's not as easy as it looks."

"What's your deal today?" Ellie asked, sitting up. "You're so damn moody. It's getting annoying."

"You want the truth?"

"Yeah, I want the truth, Seth. No need to be blunt or anything."

"Fine," he said, turning to face her. "I'm a damn prisoner here, you know that? I'm-"

"You're my boyfriend," she corrected. "There's a difference."

"I'm not your boyfriend," he snapped. "I'm a prisoner. You're keeping me here against my will. You can make me ignore Paige and be your fake boyfriend, but you can't make me be nice to you and give you advice when you need it. I'm a human, Ellie. A damn human. I'm sick and tired of you forcing me to be here, saying you'll hurt Paige if I'm not! Well, you know what? She'd be better off if I was there to protect her!"

He stood up and began walking to the door when Ellie jumped off the bed and grabbed his hand, pulling him back to face her.

"Seth, quit being a damn loser and coward for once," she said, narrowing her eyes. "I still need your help with the plan!"

"Screw the plan!" he said, jerking his hand away from hers. "Screw you!"

He grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the hotel room. Ellie sighed and ran a hand down her face. She's already lost Summer and Eva, now she's about to lose Seth? Who's next, Emma?

* * *

><p>A soft knock at the door made Nikki's eyes flicker to AJ, who sat on the bed beside her. They both nodded before getting up and crossing the room to the door. Nikki looked out the peep hole, sighing when she saw who it was.<p>

"It's just Seth."

"Of course it is," AJ mumbled, turning her head to the bathroom. "Paige is in the shower, maybe we'll have him out of here before she comes out."

"But she does take fast showers," Nikki said as he knocked again. "We could ignore him."

AJ rolled her eyes and pushed Nikki out of the way, then opened the door.

"Can I help you?" AJ asked, putting her hand on her hip.

"Is Paige in there?"

"Does it matter?" AJ raised her eyebrows.

Seth sighed, glancing to his right. "I need to see her."

"Well, it's best if she doesn't see you," AJ said, slightly closing the door.

"Wait, AJ.. Please let me see her. I need to talk to her."

"About what?"

"That's.. between Paige and I."

"Right now, the only thing between you and Paige is me," AJ said, narrowing her eyes.

Seth chuckled. "AJ, please quit the games for once. I need to see her."

"What games?"

Seth held her gaze as she twirled her hair. He shook his head before saying, "She's not in there, is she?"

"How would you know if she is or isn't?"

"Okay, let's not confuse him to death," Nikki said, pushing AJ this time, taking her spot. "What do you want to talk to her about?"

"I need to talk about our relationship."

"Uh," Nikki said, scratching her head. "Last time I checked, there was no relationship. So why would you even be here?"

Seth opened his mouth, but Nikki interrupted him.

"Oh, probably to forgive and plead your way back to being her boyfriend again," Nikki answered herself. "I knew this was going to happen. You'd realize what you did, months after it happened, then expect her to just magically forgive you like it never freakin' happened. Am I right?"

Seth didn't reply, which was all Nikki needed to hear.

"I assumed right, then." She stole a peak behind her, still hearing the water run in the bathroom. "Listen, I'm going to slam this door right in your face and not tell Paige you were here for her sake. I expect you'll do the same by never mentioning this little talk we had, assuming she'd even listen to you after you.. Well, you know. Cheated on her with a scumbag."

Seth looked down at his shoes, embarrassed of the way he had acted in the past.

"So.. Run along now," Nikki said, beginning to close the door when a voice called out.

"Nikki, who's there?"

Nikki turned around, trying to close the door behind her but it was too late. Paige already saw Seth.

"Oh.. It's you," she said, tugging at the towel around her body, her hair dripping lying on her shoulders, dripping wet. "Nikki, could you give us a minute?"

Nikki stiffened but then obliged, leaving the doorway and instead taking a seat next to AJ on the beds. Paige looked at Seth, who seemed so happy to see her.

At least one of them was.

"Seth," she said, his name lingering in the air, longer than it should have. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to apologize," he admitted, rubbing his neck.

"It's too little too late for apologizing, don't you think?"

"Paige, I know I messed up. I know I destroyed the remaining pieces of our relationship, but I'm asking.. No, I'm _begging_ for just one more chance."

"I can't do that," she quietly said. "I can't do that to myself again."

"I don't even want a relationship, I just want to be friends at least," he said. "I miss having you in my life, Paige. I miss your laugh, your smile, the way you smelled after taking a shower.."

She smiled, but then it quickly faded away when she remembered who was making her smile.

"I bet you weren't thinking about all that when you cheated on me," Paige snapped.

Seth closed her eyes. "I wasn't thinking, I know. I just wanted to hurt you like you hurt me. I just didn't want to feel anymore."

"Well I wish I didn't have to feel anymore!" Paige shouted, then taking a breath and lowering her voice. "I'm broken Seth, can't you see? You didn't destroy our relationship as much as you destroyed _me_. I wish I never had to feel anything ever again, but I still have to. And don't think for a minute I'd go sleep with some stranger just for ten minutes of not being able to hurt. Maybe.. One day in the distant future I could forgive you for it, Seth, but I can't forget. Not now, not then. Never."

"Paige," he whispered. "Please."

"You can't expect me to just forget everything you've done, Seth!" she shouted, closing the door behind her as she stepped out into the hallway. Seth backed up, not being able to keep his eyes off her body that was covered in just a towel. "It would've been better if you just cheated, but no! Fuck no! You had to go and stay with Ellie! Fucking Ellie, of all people? Why, why did you deliberately hurt me like that? Why would you stay with her?"

"You don't understand, Paige," he said, feeling his patience wear thin.

"Then make me understand, Seth," she said, taking a step closer.

He took in a deep breath, inhaling her vanilla scent. "Ellie made me stay with her, okay? She said if I went running back to you, she would hurt you. Destroy you."

"Like how you destroyed me?" she asked, coldly laughing. "And what makes her think I'd be waiting with open arms? I.. I just think that's a load of crap, Seth. God, just own up to your mistakes!"

"I am fucking owning up! I'm telling you the goddamn truth!" he shouted, his patience finally breaking. "You don't know what Ellie would do. The things.. The things she said she'd do kept me up all night, worrying for your safety. There was so much _detail_, and it just broke me! It makes me sick just thinking about it!"

"Don't you think it would've been better if you were here, maybe, I don't know, protecting me?!"

"Like you'd welcome me with open arms if I came crawling back?" he said, using her own words against her. "There was no way out. I was fucking trapped, everywhere I go. I had no way to escape, can't you see that?"

"Then why the hell are you here now, talking to me?" she demanded.

"Because I couldn't take it anymore!" he said. "I couldn't take knowing you were suffering,_ drowning_ in your own pain because of me. I couldn't take not waking up to your beautiful face every morning. I just.. did what I had to do, okay? And I don't expect you to understand my choices."

For once in her life, Paige was at a loss of words. All of this was so sudden, just ten minutes ago she was in the shower, expecting to have a normal night. But then he came and dropped this huge bomb on her, and he expected her to have some sort of reaction.

"Okay," Paige finally said, breaking the silence.

"Okay?"

"Did I stutter?" Paige asked, raising her eyebrows. "You can't just come to me and pour your heart out like your life depends on it, then expect me to feel bad and forgive you. And I'm not going to apologize, as if this whole mess were my fault. There's no one to blame but yourself for staying with Ellie. I get you think you were trying to protect me, but I'm a big fucking girl, Seth. I can take me of myself, I don't need some knight in shining armor like you think I do."

"Paige, you have to realize-"

"I don't have to realize shit, Seth," she interrupted. "You only stayed with Ellie because you knew if you left her and came back to me, I would've rejected you. You need that kind of comfort, you need someone to love you because you hate the idea of being alone. You can't stand the _thought_ of being alone. Am I right?"

Seth looked incredibly hurt as he scratched the side of his head.

"Oh, did I hit a sore spot, Seth?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Tough fucking shit. Go cry to Ellie, I'm sure she'll forgive you again. And if she doesn't, hey, I hear Emma's still single. She's Ellie's best friend, after all, so that should count as double or something. Banging your originals girlfriend's enemy, then banging her enemies best friend. Can't get much worse than that."

She turned sharply and opened the hotel room door, slamming it shut behind her. Seth stood there with tears in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away and left the hallway to go get his own room for the night. There was no need for him to bug Dean about his problems.

"How'd it-" AJ stopped midsentence when she saw Paige beginning to cry as she stood awkwardly in front of the door. "What's wrong?"

AJ jumped off the bed and guided Paige back to the bed where she collapsed onto it, her face down on the pillow.

"Sweetie, it's okay," Nikki comforted, rubbing small circles on her back. She glanced up at AJ who was scratching her head, giving her a worried look. What exactly did Seth say to her?

For the rest of the night, Paige cried in the bed with AJ and Nikki holding her. Sometimes, crying is the only way your eyes speak when your mouth can't explain how broken your heart is.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh Seth, you poor man. You poor, <em>stupid<em> man.**


	38. Chapter 38

"She's never going to take me back," Seth said, running a hand down his toned hair. "I tried everything, there's just.. It's no.. Fuck it, what's the point anymore."

Dean chuckled. "You're starting to sound like me, man."

"Who said that's a bad thing?"

"You poor soul," Dean said, shaking his head.

"Man, what am I thinking trying to get love advice from _you_?" Seth threw his arms up. "You, of all people."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "You might need some advice on how to be _nice_ while you're at it."

"I just mean that you're kind of in the same boat as I am," he said, slouching his shoulders and taking another sip of beer. "So obviously you've had as much luck as I've had."

"How am I in the same boat?"

"AJ isn't talking to you either. Pretty sure she's giving you the silent treatment."

"No, it's because I'm giving her space," Dean said. "I'm not gonna go make her even more depressed by showing up at her hotel room and demanding forgiveness."

"Shut up," Seth muttered. "And how would giving her space help? She could be getting over you, not still pining after you."

"Giving her space with let her collect her thoughts and it'll make all that pent up anger disappear." Dean shrugged. "I'm just saying, giving them space is better than-"

"Yeah, yeah. I get that I messed up," he said. "And now Ellie's going to be after Paige."

"You really think someone like Ellie could take Paige out?"

"I honestly don't know," Seth replied. "But either way, I have to keep an eye on Paige.. For her safety and all."

"Yeah," Dean said, snickering. "For her_ safety_."

"Have any brilliant ways to get AJ to talk to you?" Seth asked. "You know, when you're done giving her space."

"Nope."

Seth arched an eyebrow. "Don't you think you should think about it?"

"Nope." Dean polished off his beer and waved the bartender over to get him another. "If I think about it, then I'll be thinking about her, and then I'll miss her."

"But if you miss her you'll still love her."

"Maybe I don't want to love her anymore."

Seth's eyes widened. "Really? It's come to that?"

"I don't know, I guess. She seems happy enough with Nikki and Paige. I just- I want her to be happy, and if she's happier without me, then okay. Maybe she deserves better than a scumbag like me."

"Don't say that."

"It's the truth."

"Maybe in your eyes," Seth said. "But in hers, you're still the hero, and she's just waiting to be saved."

"Okay, you can shove all that mushy stuff up your ass," Dean grumbled. "I'm not the prince, I'm not the hero. I'm just the dumbass who thinks he's good enough for her."

"Dean-"

"Sometimes, I think I said what I said to her because I wasn't ready to propose," Dean quickly said. "I mean, I'm not ready to settle down into a stable relationship like that."

"You could've talked to her about it. She wasn't begging you to propose, was she?"

"No," Dean mumbled.

"Exactly. You still have time.. Well, had," Seth said. "Do you still even have the ring?"

Dean squeezed his eyes shut. "No, I left it in the hotel after I stormed out."

"Oh.. Bad move there." Seth took another drink of his beer. "No wonder she won't forgive you. If she didn't know you were going to propose, I bet you wouldn't be single right now.. Man, you idiot."

"Shut it, Seth."

"Do you think she has it?"

"I don't really care if she has it."

"Dean, quit being a stubborn brat."

"Then quit being a nosey dick, Seth."

He made a face, but dropped the subject as the two finished their drinks and left for their hotel room.

* * *

><p>"Paige, cheer up," AJ said, gently shaking the body that was hidden under blankets. "Come on. I brought you a present."<p>

"Is it Seth so I can punch him? Or hug him?" she said, stretching her arms underneath the blankets. "I haven't decided on which."

"It would be punch him," Nikki said from across the room. "If you beat me to it, that is."

"Paige, we have to leave for Raw soon. Can you mope in a taxi?"

Paige threw the blankets off her head. "I don't want to go to Raw."

"I know, honey. But you have to," AJ said, sitting down next to Paige and handing her a drink. "Here, I've brought you some coffee."

Paige stifled a smile and accepted the coffee, taking a small sip.

"Brie just texted me," Nikki said, jumping out of her seat. "And she's officially cleared to wrestle again!"

"That's great!"

"Maybe she could wrestle for me, then," Paige said, rubbing her tired eyes. "Because I feel like trash."

"Paige." Nikki walked over to her and sat down on the other side of her. "Seth is just a dickhead who thinks he can win you over by telling you how poorly Ellie treated him. I know you miss him, I really do, but maybe it's for the best."

"I just miss him so much, and it hurts so much."

"We know," AJ said. "But you'll feel better tonight, I promise."

"Come on!" Nikki said, jumping off the bed and pulling Paige with her. "Lets go see my sister!"

A half hour later, they arrived at the arena. Nikki was in a hurry just to see her sister, but they got delayed when they stopped to take pictures with the fans. They finally managed to satisfy all the fans, so they hurried into the arena.

"Where do you think she-" The words died on Nikki's lips as she spotted Brie, talking to a crew member. "Brie!"

Brie turned around and grinned, hugging her sister once she reached her.

"I missed you," Brie said, letting her go and smiling. "I missed wrestling, too."

"Hey, Brie," AJ said, giving her a half-hearted wave once she reached them. Paige lingered in the back, not really in the mood to be talking.

"AJ!" Brie wrapped her arms around the Diva, surprising not only her but Nikki as well with the hug. "I missed you too."

She let AJ go and turned to Paige, giving her a smile.

"You look like you could use a hug too," Brie said, opening her arms and embracing Paige. "I've missed you as well."

"I'm sure you've been keeping up with Ellie," Nikki said, once Brie let Paige go.

"Yeah, and I've been seeing a lot of you guys on TV," she said. "What's all this about you three teaming up?"

AJ looked at Nikki before saying, "We're just trying to get Ellie out of here."

"Think you could use another teammate?" Brie asked, biting her lip.

Nikki smiled. "The more, the merrier."

They went to the locker room to get ready for Raw. Stephanie had called out for Nikki and Brie to join her in a meeting. AJ and Paige went to catering to get some food before their matches.

"You feeling any better?" AJ asked.

"I guess," Paige replied, shrugging. "I haven't seen Seth yet, so there's a plus."

"I honestly don't think he's with Ellie anymore."

"I don't really give a shit if he is at this point."

"Paige-"

"Just save it, AJ."

She kept her mouth quiet as Nikki approached them.

"Hey. Where's Brie?" AJ asked as she sat down next to her.

"Changing into her ring gear."

"So.. What was the meeting about?"

Nikki sighed. "They want Brie to expand into a singles competitor."

"Oh," AJ said, frowning. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said, smiling. "I'm still with you guys, so.."

And though she didn't say it, Nikki was thinking that it was a helluva lot better than just being known as_ the other Bella Twin_.

"Paige, you ready to go kick some ass?" Nikki asked. "We're up against Summer and Eva, go figure."

For the first time that night, Paige grinned. "You bet."

The trio waited in the gorilla until the last match ended, then they walked through the curtains. In two quick seconds, Paige put her feelings aside and put on the best smile she could muster. It may have fooled the crowd, but it didn't fool AJ and Nikki.

AJ skipped over to the announcers table as Paige and Nikki got into the ring and watched their opponents come out. She took a seat next to JBL and put a headset on.

"AJ, lovely having you here."

"Thank you, Michael," she said, smiling.

The match started with Summer and Nikki. The blonde jumped, wrapping her long legs around Nikki's neck and flipped her over. She turned to face Paige, giving her a tight smile as she grabbed Nikki and threw her down onto the mat.

Nikki kicked Summer in the gut, jumping back up and clotheslining her. She made a tag to Paige, who quickly ran over and speared Eva off the apron. She turned to Summer and lifted her leg, kicking her square in the face. She bent her head back and screamed to the crowd.

Nikki clapped her hands together, cheering Paige on when suddenly Ellie's music began playing. Nikki turned to face the stage with an annoyed expression, watching as Ellie- without Emma by her side- ran down to the ring. She slid in it and stared at Paige, holding her gaze as Nikki got into the ring and stood a few feet behind her. Ellie gave them a smirk before jumping on top of Summer and pounding her head off the mat.

The bell rang and Nikki and Paige backed up to the ropes, watching as Eva got into the ring. Ellie jumped off Summer and grabbed Eva's hair, pulling her to her face.

"You think you can just accuse me of doing things?" she said, pulling her hair even more as she put Eva on her shoulders. Summer stood up and tried to knock Eva off, but Ellie kicked her in the stomach. She then dropped Eva on to her knee.

She spun around and narrowed her eyes at Paige and Nikki before adjusting the belt on her waist and leaving the ring. She walked by the announcers table and grabbed a mic, then headed for the stage.

"AJ, you seem lonely, not getting as much attention as the two are," she said, stopping once she got to the stage. "How about I change that?"

By now AJ was in the ring, beside her two partners.

"At Night of Champions, you and I are going to wrestle in that steel cage match you didn't get at SummerSlam," Ellie said, smiling. "Satisfied?"

"You bet your ass I'm satisfied," AJ said, narrowing her eyes. "I'm going to rip you apart in that cage, limb by limb. I'm going to rip your throat out with my _teeth_. Satisfied with that?"

* * *

><p>"I'm feeling nervous about that steel cage match."<p>

"Why?" AJ asked, turning to face Nikki as they walked through the halls of the WWE stadium. "You're not the one in it."

"I don't know, I'm just getting a bad feeling from thinking about it," she replied, shrugging. She looked over at Paige. "Feeling any better?"

"Yeah.. I guess. Beating people up always makes me feel better," Paige said, chuckling. They turned a corner and she felt herself bump into a hard chest. A pair of strong arms grabbed her shoulders to steady her before she could fall.

"Oh, sorry.." Paige looked up at the Superstars eyes and smiled. "I wasn't watching where I was.. going."

"No worries, baby girl," he said, winking. "You didn't fall, no harm was done."

Paige looked down at her shoes, feeling her cheeks turn a light red.

"Better be careful next time, though. Not everyone's as fast as I am," he said, giving her one last grin before walking past her, disappearing out of her sight.

Nikki and AJ shared a look while Paige continued staring at her feet. Nikki poked Paige on the arm, causing her to shake her head and glance up at the twin.

"What?"

"Nothing," Nikki quickly said as she started walking down the halls again. "Just.. Nothing."

Paige could still feel his big arms holding her shoulders. She stole a peak behind her, knowing her was out of sight, but not out of her mind. She's talked to him before, hell, she even wrestled with him before. Why is she feeling so different now?

She took a deep breath and turned back around, wondering if Roman Reigns was feeling the same way she was, if he had the same butterflies in his stomach.


	39. Chapter 39

"Quit being a damn baby," AJ said, raising her eyebrows and poking Paige in the chest. "Do you even hear yourself right now?"

"I do have ears, so yes," Paige replied, rolling her eyes. "And I'm not being a baby, excuse me if I just wanted to run on a treadmill today."

"Well, we would be better off spending our time practicing our wrestling moves," AJ retorted, opening the doors to the Performance Center and holding them open for Paige and Nikki as they shuffled in, mumbling a thank you. AJ followed in after them, her eyes jumping to each ring. There weren't many, and most of them were taken from other wrestlers.

"The one day we show up, the whole entire frickin' roster has to come," Nikki said, blowing air out of her mouth. "Of course."

"Come on, there's an empty one over here."

The two Divas followed AJ to the ring located towards the back of the arena. They got into the ring and began stretching.

"We need a team move," AJ said, pulling her arms over her head. "Like, a team finisher that we use to destroy people with."

"Why?" Paige asked. "I like our individual finishers."

"That's because you're boring."

"I am not boring," Paige declared.

"You're being boring right now."

"I am not, I'm just telling you my opinion on your stupid idea."

"Guys," Nikki said, raising her eyebrows. "Must you two always fight?"

"Only when Paige is being a dumbass," AJ muttered.

"Hey! I heard that."

"You were meant to!"

Nikki narrowed her eyes, looking between the two. "Here's an idea: Quit arguing before I smack you both in the head."

AJ and Paige glared at each other for a moment until AJ relaxed and gave her a smile. Paige rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her hair.

"Okay, if we were to have a team move, what would it be?"

AJ's smile grew. "Well, I haven't gotten that far, but.. I_ was_ thinking we could just steal the Shield's old move."

Nikki furrowed her eyebrows. "You mean the triple powerbomb?"

AJ nodded. "Yeah, we could pull it off."

"Sounds easy enough," Paige said.

"But wouldn't it feel weird, using their move?"

"No," AJ replied. "Because the Shield hasn't been the Shield in over a year. If they don't like it, they can go cry to their mommas or get over it."

Nikki laughed. "I'm liking this new attitude of yours."

"Please, it's not new," AJ said, rolling her eyes and turning her head, her eyes jumping to each occupied ring. "We could try it on someone, but.. I don't see any other Divas."

"We could always try it on a dude," Paige said. She spun around and looked at everyone too, her eyes landing on three Superstars walking into the Performance Center. She bit her lip, watching the third one to come in. She tilted her head to the side, wondering why he was suddenly attracting her so much. Was it because she knew he was Seth's best friend and it would hurt him as much as he hurt her?

"Paige.. Paige!"

"What?" she asked, turning back to face her friends.

"What the hell are you staring at?"

"No one," she quickly said, watching Nikki raise her eyebrows. "I mean, nothing."

"If you say so," Nikki said, watching as Paige turned back around. Curiosity got the best of her and she walked over beside Paige, following her gaze. Her eyes landed on Roman, causing her eyebrows to scrunch together. Why was Paige _drooling_ at Roman?

"Oh! I see someone," AJ said, making the two Divas spin around. AJ waved her arm, smiling as Brie made her way over. The Bella slid into the ring, giving everyone a smile.

"I didn't think you three would be here today," she said, walking over to give her sister a hug. She pulled away and looked back at AJ. "Did you need something? You looked kind of-"

"I do need something, actually," AJ interrupted, clasping her hands together. "We need someone to try this move out with us, and since your the only other Diva here.."

"You want me to be a test dummy?"

"Basically," Nikki said, laughing as she gently shoved her sister on the shoulder. "You up for it?"

She shrugged. "Okay."

Brie moved to the center of the ring as the trio surrounded her. Paige stood in front of Brie's legs where Roman would usually be. Nikki and AJ stood on either side of her shoulders.

"Okay, ready?" AJ asked, looking at her two partners. They both nodded. "Okay.. Just lift here, and.."

Nikki and AJ lifted Brie up, her legs swinging around Paige's neck. They held her there for a moment as AJ grinned, glad it was working. Brie's legs slipped from Paige's neck and she stumbled down, almost falling if not for Nikki and AJ holding onto her.

"Sorry, they just kind of slipped," Paige said to Brie, giving her a small smile.

"It's okay, it was only your first try," Brie said. "Come on, try it again."

AJ and Nikki lifted her back up and Brie's legs rested on Paige's shoulders. Paige adjusted her legs, only to have them start to slip down. She moved her one hand that was holding onto Brie's sides to pull them back up

"Why won't they stay up?" Paige muttered to herself.

Nikki opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when a deep voice beat her to it.

"It helps if you put them higher up on your neck."

The four Divas swung their head over to see Roman standing on the apron with a cocky smirk. He shook his head, letting his long hair brush against his shoulders. He bent over the ropes and got into the ring, crossing over to Paige, who was already captivated by him. AJ didn't seem to notice, only Nikki who rolled her eyes. She glanced over at Dean and Seth who were standing outside the ring. Dean had the same smirk on his face, while Seth looked extremely pissed off.

"See what I mean?" Roman asked as he helped Paige adjust Brie's legs. "When they swing her legs up, keep your shoulders up. And make sure you support her body."

"Oh.." Paige said, chuckling as Brie jumped off, landing on her feet on the mat. "I get it now."

"Try it again," Roman said, jerking his chin to Brie. "Remember what I showed you."

Paige nodded as Nikki and AJ grabbed her shoulders and threw her up. Paige ducked down a little to make sure Brie's legs got onto her shoulder. She kept them high and gave her two teammates a nod, then they slammed Brie down onto the mat, successfully powerbombing her.

"Who knew you three could do it better than we could?" Roman asked, glancing back at his two friends.

"I wouldn't go that far," Paige said as Nikki offered a hand to Brie, helping her up. "But was it good enough?"

Roman nodded. "It was, baby girl."

Paige looked away, her blush coming back as Roman just smiled at her. He left the ring, getting back to his friends as they headed away from the ring to find their own.

"Did that hurt?" AJ asked Brie, who nodded.

"Nothing I can't handle, though."

"Paige, are you okay?" Nikki asked, walking up beside her. "You seem a little distant right now."

"I'm fine," Paige said, offering a smile, a smile Nikki could see right through. A smile Nikki knew was fake. She knew how Paige was feeling right now, so lost and confused. "I'm perfectly fine."

* * *

><p>"What the hell was that back there?" Seth asked once their were far enough away, getting right in front of Roman.<p>

"What?"

"What was up with you calling her baby girl, huh? And you being so insistent on helping them? So _eager_ to help Paige?"

"They needed help, so I gave it to them," Roman said, getting angry with Seth being so close to him. "Do you mind? I'm trying to walk here."

"Do you call everyone you help_ baby girl_?"

Roman's eyes narrowed as his blood began to boil.

"Seth," Dean said, gently moving Seth out of Roman's way. He didn't want an angry Roman, that's the_ last_ thing he wants. "Chill out, okay? He wouldn't deliberately steal Paige away when he knows how you still feel about her."

Seth shoved Dean off of him. "You can't tell me crap when you don't even have the balls to talk to AJ."

Dean looked taken aback, to say the least. He backed off, his expression remaining flat.

Seth turned back to Roman. "If you're not stealing Paige away, then you'll have no problems leaving her be and not talking to her.. Unless you are out to get her?"

Roman locked eyes with Seth's. He shook his head, walking past Seth and going outside, hoping Seth was smart enough not to follow until he cooled down. He walked to their rental car and leaned his body against it, staring up at the blue sky. Quite frankly, he was pissed at Seth for thinking he would even think about stealing Paige away.

But.. Then again, they aren't together, so technically it wouldn't be stealing.. Right?

Wait.. Why was Roman even thinking about this? He didn't like Paige, so it's not like it mattered. But then why did it bother him so much? Why did he feel this way when he was around Paige?

His eyes flickered up to the doors that were being shoved open. Seth barged through with Dean a few feet right behind. Dean walked to the doors with his head turned around, making sure Paige wasn't anywhere near them. He turned back around, the door hitting him right in the face. He stumbled back, holding his bruising nose.

Seth walked over to Roman and stood right in front of him, once again too close for liking.

"I wasn't done talking to you," Seth harshly said.

"I was done talking to you," Roman said, folding his arms over his chest. "What's your problem with me talking to Paige?"

"My problem is that your flirting with her and you know it," Seth said as the doors opened and Dean came out, still holding his nose. "You know the first guy rule is to not steal your best friend's girl."

"She is not your girl," Roman said, trying to keep his anger down. "You cheated on her, remember? Was she still your girl then?"

If looks could kill, Roman would be near dead with the way Seth was glaring at him.

"You swore to never mention that," he said. "It was a fucking stupid mistake, okay? Don't act like you never made a mistake."

"You're damn right it was a stupid mistake," Roman said. "A mistake that cost you your relationship. You can't expect her to just wait for you, Seth. That's not how it works."

"Like you know how it works! You haven't been with Paige, so don't tell me how it works," Seth said. "And you won't be with Paige, understand?"

Roman stood up so he wasn't leaning against the car anymore. He leaned down to Seth, only mere inches away from his face.

"I don't need you to tell me who I can and can't be with," he said in almost a whisper. "Do you really think that low of me? You really think I'd go and steal Paige away, even if she's not yours? You're disgusting, Seth. I'm not a dog, I don't want your leftovers."

He briskly walked away from Seth, decided he would just walk back to the hotel. It was only a few minutes away anyway, and he needed time to cool off.

Seth glared as his eyes followed Roman until he was too far out of sight. He turned around to see Dean standing there with his arms folded across his chest.

"What?" Seth asked, raising his eyebrows. "Don't get pissy with me too."

Dean didn't reply, instead got into the car and put the keys in the ignition. Seth mentally kicked himself in the head and moved over to the passengers seat. He didn't even have his door closed when Dean pulled out of the parking lot.

"I messed up, I know," Seth said to fill the silence. "But you can't blame me for thinking-"

He stopped when Dean turned the radio on, an old rock song coming on. He turned up the volume, so loud Seth couldn't hear himself think. He rolled his eyes and leaned his head against the window, only to jerk it back up when it rolled down. He glanced over at Dean, seeing his fingers on the button. He huffed out a sigh and leaned his head back on the seat, wondering if he could ever possibly fix his relationship with Paige. He wondered if he could fix it before Roman gets to Paige and sweeps her off her feet.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm not very good at writing Roman yet.. Hopefully it was good enough for you guys, but don't worry, it'll get better. Roman's becoming another essential character, just like Dean and Seth. (And lets pretend Roman isn't married and doesn't have a child.. Okay? Okay.)<strong>


	40. Chapter 40

**Did you guys see the Rumble last night? I'm so happy and proud of Roman! Though I wish they would have made the eliminations of other wrestlers (Daniel Bryan) a bit more meaningful..**

* * *

><p>"Do we have any matches?" AJ asked, twiddling her fingers as she sat on the bench in the locker room. It was Monday, which only meant one thing- Monday Night Raw.<p>

"A tag team match against Natalya, Naomi, and Charlotte," Nikki replied.

"Charlotte?" Paige raised her eyebrows. "I guess they didn't ship her back to NXT, then."

"That's good that they're recruiting more Divas," AJ said. "I heard Alexa and Sasha are going to be up here soon."

"So, Paige," Nikki said, grinning. "Have anything.. new to tell us?"

"No?"

Nikki raised her head. "Oh.. Okay."

"Why? Is there something I should know?"

"No," Nikki quickly said. "I just wasn't sure if there was something we should know. Something that you know but don't want _us_ to know, maybe."

Paige shot her a look and turned her head, ignoring AJ's confused look.

"Is there something _I_ should know?" AJ asked, looking between the two. "Something that you two know but I don't?"

Nikki grinned. "Ask Paige, she might know."

Paige narrowed her eyes at Nikki. AJ could sense the tension and dropped the subject. She stood up, stretching her arms over her head. "I'm going to go talk to someone."

AJ walked past them, but Paige reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Okay, is there something _we_ should know from _you_?"

"No," she said. "I just need to go talk to Stephanie."

"Okay," Paige said, releasing her wrist. AJ hesitated before walking out of the locker room, knowing exactly where she would find a certain someone. She stopped in front of the men's locker room and knocked, deciding this time she wouldn't just barge right in.

Dolph Ziggler opened the door, looking down at AJ and giving her a strange look.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked, nervously glancing behind him.

"Yeah, I need to talk to someone," AJ responded, trying to peak over his shoulder. She widened her eyes and sunk back down, seeing something she wasn't anticipating on seeing. "Er- is Dean in there?"

Dolph sighed, taking another glance behind him. "Yeah, but I don't think he'd be too thrilled seeing his ex."

AJ narrowed her eyes, putting her hands on her hips. "Go get him, Dolph, before I kick you in the skins."

He held her gaze for a moment before walking back into the locker room. The door closed behind him, and AJ wondered if he was actually getting Dean. Until the door opened again and he walked out, his longer hair making it harder for her to see his baby blue eyes.

"Damn, if we were still together, I'd make you get a haircut."

Dean instinctively ran a hand through it. "Well, we're not, so.. What do you want?"

AJ stepped out of the way as another Superstar walked into the room. She rolled her eyes at how rude they were, just pushing past people. She walked over to a private corner and Dean followed her.

"I want to know what Seth's deal is," she said, raising her eyebrows. "I know you two are tight-"

"You did not just say _tight_."

"-so could you pass on a message for me?" AJ asked, giving him her puppy eyes.

"I'm trying to stay out of this," he said, avoiding her eyes. She stuck out her bottom lip, and he had no choice but to look at her, making it near impossible to look away. "Damn it! Fine, what do you want me to tell him?"

She smiled, cocking her head to the side. "Tell him since the only reason he's in this mess is because he couldn't keep his dick in his pants, if he doesn't leave Paige alone, I will personally make sure he won't ever have the problem of not being able to keep it in his pants."

Dean blankly stared at her. "You expect me to remember all that?"

AJ put her hand on her head. "Right, I forgot how incompetent you are."

Dean smiled, his dimples that AJ loved showing. "And I forgot how bossy you are."

"I also forgot how rude you are," AJ said.

"You know, while we're on the subject of Paige and Seth.. You should tell her that Seth only made a mistake, and he only stayed with Ellie to protect her. Okay?"

AJ raised her eyebrows. "You want me to tell my friend that she needs to forgive that douche?"

"You want me to tell _my_ friend if he doesn't back off, you'll cut his dick off."

"I never said I'd cut it off," AJ said. "Why are you suddenly on his side, huh?"

"I was never not on his side."

"Are you trying to justify his actions?"

"No," he said, looking down at her with narrowed eyes. "He's my friend- of course I'm going to take his side. You don't even know the full story, so you can't say shit."

"I can _too_ say shit because I _do_ know the full story," AJ said. "He cheated on her, broke her heart, and now he wants her back, like all the pain she's been feeling will just magically disappear."

"You're painting such a black and white picture," he said. "Ellie forced him to stay with her, she threatened him. He did that to protect Paige, did you not know that?"

"So he protected Paige by sleeping with another women?" AJ asked. "Over and over and over?"

"Do you know for a fact they slept together after the first time?"

"No, but it sure seems like they would," AJ said. "He broke her heart-"

"So now he's going to fix it."

"You can't fix what's already broken, Dean."

"How do you know?"

"Because I do. There's no going back once the damage is done."

"You can't just assume you know everything," Dean said. "See? This is another reason why I broke up with you."

"We're talking about Seth and Paige, not us!" AJ exclaimed, her heart racing in her chest. She fixed her gaze on the ground as she tried to steady her heart beat.

"Are we?"

AJ slowly looked back up at him, gazing into his eyes as she searched for answers.

"I don't know," she whispered. "Why did you break up with me?"

"I had to," he said, covering his face with his hand.

"Was it a way to get out?" she asked. "Was I suffocating you?"

"No- it wasn't you, AJ."

"Don't give me that _it wasn't you_ bullshit, Dean."

"Fine," he said through his teeth. "I couldn't take another day of it, I just needed a break. I needed a break before you drove me crazy. It was just a stupid mistake that I live with everyday."

"Now that you had your break," AJ started, taking a deep breath. "What are you going to do?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Just-" she closed her eyes as he leaned down towards her. "Just.."

"Just what?" he asked in a quiet voice.

She didn't reply, only opened her eyes and gazed into his, his eyes that reminded her of the beautiful, blue sky.

"If you tell me to kiss you," he whispered, "I will."

She bit her lip, wondering how he could still draw her in. It's been almost three months, shouldn't he not attract her anymore? Shouldn't she be over him? Or maybe she never will be, maybe a part of her will always love him. Maybe a part of him will always love her. But, right now, she just wanted to forget the past, forget everything he said to her, forget the pain she felt. She just wanted to forget it all.

"Kiss me."

* * *

><p>"You're telling me you're completely over him?" Nikki asked, raising her eyebrows. "Like, 100%?"<p>

Paige bit her lip as she crossed her legs, leaning her elbows on the table.

"I don't know," she said. "I don't want to be, that's the sad part. I still want him."

"That's normal, though. Just because someone hurts you doesn't mean you're feelings will just up and vanish."

"But he cheated on me," Paige said. "Surely that meant he's over me."

"It was just a mistake, sweetie."

"Don't defend him."

"I'm not trying to," Nikki said. "I'm just trying to look at both sides here."

"There's only one side, and that's my side," Paige said. "The right side."

"Okay, AJ."

Paige scowled, taking another bite of her apple.

"Is it because of Roman?"

"What?" Paige asked, the apple in her hand hovering in front of her mouth.

"Is this because of Roman?"

"What does Roman have to do with this?"

Nikki smirked. "You're a bad liar, Paige."

"I am not," she said. "Roman has nothing to do with this, I promise. He's just a nice guy."

"Mhm."

Paige ignored her, deciding to change the subject to avoid this topic. "So where's AJ?"

Nikki shrugged, noticing how Paige suddenly changed the subject. She was always the observant one.

"Probably still with Stephanie."

"What would she be talking to her about?"

"Maybe her match against Ellie next week?"

"But _what's_ there to talk about?"

"If you're that nosey, why don't you go look for her?"

"Fine." Paige finished her apple and tossed it into the garbage, sticking her tongue out at Nikki when it went in. She stood up and walked away from her friend to Stephanie's office.

* * *

><p>Paige pressed her ear to the door that led to Stephanie's office, hoping she would be able to hear some voices. She began tapping her foot on the floor as she heard nothing. Sighing, she moved her head down to the floor, looking for any feet. She really didn't think AJ was in there, but why would AJ lie about where she was going?<p>

"Paige? What are you doing?"

Banging her head off the side of the door, Paige clumsily tried to stand up. Offering a smile, she casually brushed dirt off her ring gear.

"Nothing," she said, smiling. "Just dropped something."

Stephanie raised her eyebrows. "Did you find it?"

"Uh, yeah," she said, holding her hand up as if something were in it. "Right here."

Paige awkwardly stepped aside so Stephanie could get into her office. Before she could close the door, Paige followed her in.

"So, was AJ here by any chance?"

"No," Stephanie replied, sitting down on her black seat and crossing her legs. "Is there something you need to tell me, Paige?"

"No." She quickly shook her head. "Nothing at all."

She gave her another smile and a wave, then hurried out of the room. She mentally kicked herself in the head for being such a spaz. So if AJ was never there, where was she?

Paige's gaze drifted down to her shoes once she saw Seth up ahead. She quickened her pace, hoping he wouldn't see her. But then she stopped, noticing he wasn't alone.

"Why the hell are you acting like this?" Seth asked, shoving Roman on the shoulders. "Huh?"

Paige widened her eyes and hid behind large crates, slowly peaking her head out to see Roman stiffen.

"Seth, unless you want your face pounded into the wall, I suggest you back off."

"Well I'm suggesting _you_ back off from Paige!"

Paige bit her lip, wondering why two men would be fighting over her, of all things.

"I am backing off Paige! I was never even close to her!" Roman said, his voice growing louder. "Seth, I swear in about two seconds I'm going to punch you."

"Fine then, punch me! See if it makes any of this different," Seth said. "If I even catch you looking at her in the wrong way-"

"Why are you so bent on the mere thought of Paige and I?" Roman asked. "Is it because you know I could make her happier than you ever could?"

Seth clenched his fists. "We were happy, Roman. Just.. Don't go stepping in the picture, okay?"

"What picture?" Roman asked, getting real tired of this conversation. "There is no damn picture, Seth. I'm done with this conversation, whenever you find your balls and start acting like a man again, come talk to me and we'll sort this out."

He walked away from Seth, who hid his face in his hands. Paige backed up against the wall, taking a deep breath as her mind tried to sort through all this craziness. Was her life always this hectic? She couldn't even remember.

"Shit," she muttered, standing up and hurrying off in the other direction before Seth could catch her. She started jogging down the halls, towards the gorilla for the match that slipped her mind. Barely missing running into a crew member, she tried to hold her hair down as she began sprinting.

Up ahead, she could see AJ and Nikki talking to each other. She slowed her speed and casually walked up to them.

"Hey," she said. AJ and Nikki swiveled their heads to the Diva. "What's uh, up?"

"Where the hell were you?" AJ asked, raising her eyebrows. "We're almost on!"

"I just got caught up in something," Paige lied, rubbing her forearm. "I'm sorry."

AJ relaxed. "It's okay, you just had us thinking you were going to skip out on the match."

She turned her attention back to the monitor, watching as the match came to an end. Paige fixed her eyes on the ground, trying to ignore the fact that Nikki was staring at her.

"Where were you really, Paige?"

"I told you," she answered, "I just got caught up in stuff."

Nikki didn't seem satisfied with the answer and kept her narrowed eyes on Paige until they were moments away from their match. She replaced them with warm yet fake smiles, just like Paige did.


	41. Chapter 41

**A little foreshadowing for the sequel in the first part!**

* * *

><p>Paige screamed, throwing her head back on the apron. She turned around to see Charlotte charging after her. Grabbing onto the ropes, she ducked and Charlotte flew out of the ring. Smirking, Paige got back into the ring and tagged AJ in.<p>

The small Diva jumped out of the ring, landing right on Charlotte. She picked her up and threw her into the ring before the ref could count to ten. Lifting her leg up, she tried to pin her but Charlotte kicked out at two.

AJ backed up into the ropes and jumped over Charlotte, connecting with a DDT. She backed up again, this time delivering a dropkick. Dragging Charlotte to her corner, she stumbled back in pain when she elbowed AJ in the face. Charlotte crawled to her corner and tagged Naomi in, while AJ tagged Nikki in.

Nikki and Naomi ran towards each other. Nikki jumped as Naomi ducked underneath her. The Bella turned around and delivered a clothesline to Naomi, until she didn't get up from the mat. Nikki got onto the corner rope and raised her arms in the air, waiting for Naomi to stand up. She froze, glancing to the stage with a glare.

"I'm sorry Nikki, am I interrupting something?" Ellie asked, raising her title in the air. "I just wanted to remind everyone who the real hero in this company is."

Naomi stood up and grabbed Nikki, holding her on her shoulders until she slammed her down onto the mat. Ellie laughed into her mic, watching as Naomi got the pin before AJ or Paige could break it apart.

"Did I make you lose?" Ellie asked with a sad face. "My bad. Next time I'll warn you ahead of time."

Natalya, Naomi, and Charlotte abandoned the ring, leaving AJ, Nikki, and Paige alone.

"Guess what?" Ellie asked. "I have a present for you three. Are you ready?"

They shared a nervous glance before raising their hands, assuming it would be a fight. The lights turned off, the only source of it being the audience's flashlights. Laughing rang out from the stage as the lights turned back on. Almost every remaining Diva- aside from Summer and Eva- were surrounding the ring. Aj backed up, her back bumping into Nikki and Paige.

The Divas outside the ring jumped up onto the apron, leaning over the ropes to glare. But there glare wasn't directed to them.

Suddenly every Diva jumped off the apron and ran up the stage to Ellie, who began panicking and tried to leave. But the Divas caught up to her and tackled her to the ground. The Divas backed up from Ellie, looking down at her tangled hair and bruised body. With proud smiles, they retrieved the belt and carried it to the ring. AJ stepped forward and grabbed it, backing up so she was side by side with Nikki and Paige. She raised the belt up as high as she could.

Nikki and Paige raised their arms and grabbed onto it as well. Ellie crawled away from the group of Divas in front of the ring until she got to her feet.

"That's my belt!" Ellie shouted, pointing and waving around like a maniac. "You just wish you had it!"

"We already do!" Nikki shouted, smirking at Ellie's reaction. She looked over at her two friends and knew one day, one day this would be them.

* * *

><p>"What are you so happy about?" Paige asked, raising her eyebrows at AJ, who only shrugged and fell back onto the hotel bed. "Did something happen? Was it something with Steph?"<p>

AJ stiffened. "Um-"

"Before you think of a lie, I'll save you the trouble," Paige said, narrowing her eyes. "I know you weren't talking to her."

"Okay, I was just talking to Dean."

Nikki zipped her bag back up and stood up, facing her two friends. "What?"

"I said I was ta-"

"No, I heard you," she said, shaking her head. She walked over to the other bed and sat down. "What did you talk to him about?"

"Stuff. Things."

"You could be more specific," Paige said. "Don't spare us any details or anything."

"Well." AJ sat up, leaning her back against the headboard. "We were talking about you and Seth, actually. But I think all along we were just talking about us, I'm not really sure.. And then, then he.. said something, and I said something.. And we kissed."

Paige widened her eyes, giving Nikki a crazy look. "Really? That's.. Is that good or bad?"

Sucking in her bottom lip, AJ shrugged. "I honestly don't know."

"Okay, for starters, did you like it?" Nikki asked.

"Of course I did," AJ said, grinning. "But I don't know if I liked it in that way.. I don't know. I don't think I'm ready yet."

"It's okay not to be ready," Nikki said. "How does he feel about it?"

"Like I said, I'm not too sure what happened," AJ said. "He kissed me, and it just kind of.. progressed from there, until I realized I was almost late for my match.

"It'll all work out," Paige said, resting her hand on AJ's knee. "You two will eventually find you're way back to each other. Until then, you still have us."

They shared a grin while Nikki stared at Paige, wondering if she even realized the advice she gave AJ applied to herself, too. Just like AJ and Dean, Seth and Paige will eventually find their way back to each other.. That is, unless a large Samoan had anything to do with it.

"Let's celebrate tonight, huh?" Nikki asked, standing up and stretching her arms out. "I bought the cutest dress that is just _dying_ to be worn."

"What are we celebrating?" AJ asked, arching a brow.

"The fact that you and Dean might get back together! Now come one you two," Nikki said, walking over and pulling on their arms. "We'll go out to a club and dance the night away!"

"I'd rather do something else," AJ said, Paige nodding in agreement. "Like.. watch The Walking Dead."

"Or go to the gym," Paige suggested. "Or go pull a prank on someone.. Or watch a scary movie."

"The Walking Dead can be scary," AJ pointed out.

"Oh, AJ," Paige said, smiling. "No, it's not scary."

Nikki frowned. "You two are boring, you know that? I'm going to show you how to have fun."

Paige rolled her eyes. "I know how to have fun. Ask Seth."

Laughing, AJ threw a pillow at her. "Gross."

Paige smiled in return and walked over to her bag to get dressed. As much as she didn't want to go dancing and most likely get drunk, she did need a girls night out. She needed time to take her mind of things.

Thirty minutes later, the three Divas were squished in a taxi, heading to the nearest nightclub. After paying the driver, Nikki grabbed her friend's hands and dragged them into the club. Inside, there were people everywhere- dancing, drinking, singing.. It was so loud AJ thought she might just die.

"Hey, I see some of our co-workers," AJ said, frowning as she watched Dolph Ziggler dance in the middle of the club. She shook her head and followed Nikki and Paige to the bar. She sat down on one of the stools next to Paige and ordered a light drink.

"Oh, come on, AJ," Paige said, smiling. "I guess one drink won't kill us, right?"

"I guess we'll find out," she said, chuckling. Before long, Nikki was almost drunk and making her way through the crowd, dancing and singing along with every stranger. AJ couldn't help but worry, while Paige couldn't help but laugh.

"She's such a good role model," Paige said, polishing off her glass and waving the bartender over. "Isn't she?"

"Clearly she's having some kind of affect on you," AJ murmured, running a hand through her hair. "Maybe you should slow down, Paige. You aren't Nikki."

"Are you saying I can't hold my liquor down like she can?" Paige asked, shooting the bartender a look for taking so long getting her drink. "I'll show you, AJ. I'll prove to you I can hold my drinks."

"Oh, boy," AJ said, sighing. Looks like she'll be the sober parent tonight. Glancing to her right, another sigh escaped her lips. Ellie was here, and she wasn't alone. She was talking to Seth. Looking back over at Paige, she noticed she was completely oblivious to the loud party around here. "Paige, I'll be right back. I need to go to the bathroom, okay?"

Paige nodded, almost half way through her drink that she_ just_ got. "Yeah, sure."

AJ slipped off her stool, marching right over to Ellie and Seth.

"What the hell?" she asked, getting in front of Seth, ignoring Ellie's glares. "I thought you weren't going to this."

Seth unfolded his arms. "Don't assume things, AJ. I'm only here to remind Ellie we aren't together."

AJ raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

His eyes narrowed even more. "Yes."

Ellie shoved AJ out of the way. "Can't we talk about this?"

AJ closed her eyes, trying to contain her anger. She didn't want to cause another scene because she couldn't resist punching Ellie.

"There's nothing to talk about," Seth spat. "Just get out of here, okay?"

Ellie paused before walking away. Seth watched her go before turning his head back to AJ.

"The nerve of that girl," AJ said. "So, if you're going to somehow make this up to Paige, you can't be talking to Ellie. Like.. ever."

"I know," he said, nodding. "I will make it up to her, I will promise you that."

AJ smiled. "I know."

Ellie leaned against a wall, her eyes remaining on Seth. She titled her head to the side, wondering what could possess a man to just up and leave her.

Her eyes drifted over to the bar, where a lonely Paige sat. A smile tugged at her lips when she saw Roman approaching her. She immediately noticed how drunk Paige was, and knew this was the perfect plan to get Seth back on her side. She may have lost Eva and Summer, but she refuses to lose Seth. Not this time.

* * *

><p>"Hey, baby girl," Roman greeted, taking a seat next to Paige. "What's a girl like you doing here all alone?"<p>

Paige turned her head to face him, poking her tongue out. "Is that how you flirt with girls?"

He smiled. "I'm not actually flirting, believe it or not."

"Well, that's too, too bad," Paige slurred, letting her hand drop and land on his knee.

"Too bad that I'm not flirting and taking advantage of a woman who's drunk and doesn't know what she's doing?"

"It's too bad you don't know," she said, winking. "Know that I might _want_ you to flirt."

He laughed, shaking his head. "You're so drunk, Paige. This isn't like you."

Paige finished her drink, slamming it down onto the bar. "Since you're so bad at this, why don't I try?"

She leaned over to him, her mouth a mere inches away from his ear.

"How about we head out of here, before I change my mind?" she whispered.

"Okay," he said, taking her arm and leading her outside. Of course, he wasn't actually_ leaving_ with her. He was just going to bring her to his hotel room and keep her there until her friends show up.

The taxi drove them to the hotel and Roman practically carried Paige up the stairs- he refused to use elevators, because using the stairs is more exercise.

"Is this your room?" Paige asked, walking ahead and stopping in front of a door. Roman shook his head and walked past her, stopping a few doors ahead. He unlocked it and ushered her in. She fumbled around for the lights before finding them and turning them in.

"Surprisingly clean in here," she said, nodding her head. She stumbled to the bed and sat down on it, gazing up at Roman. "You seem.. what's the word.. Hm. You seem sad."

"Sad?" He laughed, taking a seat next to her. "I'm not sad."

"Is it because you don't want me?"

Roman gave her a look. "Do you really think that?"

She shrugged.

"I texted AJ and Nikki, they should be here soon," he said, softly bumping her shoulder. "Okay?"

"No," she said, leaning her head down on his shoulder. "I don't want them to come."

"Why?" he asked, though he already had a pretty good idea of why. He just wanted to hear her say it.

"Because I want to be with you," she said, standing up and moving right in front of him. "I only want to be with you."

Roman opened his mouth to say something, closing it when she pushed him down on the bed. She crawled on top of him, straddling his lap.

"Paige," he said, closing his eyes as she started to move in slow circles. "We can't do this."

"Why?" she asked, stopping as she looked into his eyes. "Why can't we?"

"Because of Seth," he replied. "He's my friend, I can't dog him out like that."

Paige narrowed her eyes. "You mean the Seth that cheated on me? That one? It has to be that one. Because I don't recognize the other Seth anymore. The other Seth that was better at making me smile than make me cry."

"I-" He stopped when her mouth crashed into his. The whole world stopped at that moment. He knew she was drunk, he knew when her friends arrived things would go to hell, hell- he knew he'd regret this in the morning. Not just because of Seth, but because Paige was drunk and has no clue what she's doing. Who knows if she'll even remember it? Will she even _want_ to remember it?

Yet he still pushed these factors to the back of his mind and kissed Paige back with every ounce in his body.


	42. Chapter 42

"Are you not reading these words, Nikki?" AJ shouted over the music, shoving her phone into Nikki's face. "Paige is with Roman! _Roman_!"

"Calm down and dance with me!" Nikki shouted, twirling AJ around, almost knocking her into someone. AJ sighed and ran a hand down her face, knowing she was too drunk to give a damn.

"Come with me!" she exclaimed, grabbing Nikki's arm and pulling her off the dance floor. She whined and tried to loosen AJ's grip, but she wouldn't have it.

"Oh, hey! There's Seth!" Nikki said, waving her free arm over her head like an idiot. "Seth!"

AJ bit the inside of her cheeks, wondering how this night could get any worse. Or if Nikki could get any drunker.

Seth walked over to them, looking around them. "Is Paige here? I figured she would be, since you two are here.""

"Uh, she went back to the hotel," AJ replied, which wasn't a lie. She just didn't say who with. "Said she wasn't feeling good."

"You're damn right she did," Ellie said, walking up to them and snorting. "Gee, Nikki. What's the matter with you?"

Nikki stuck her tongue out. AJ rolled her eyes and pushed Nikki behind her.

"What are you doing here?" AJ asked. "Again?"

"I just came to tell you, Paige didn't go to the hotel alone," Ellie answered, smirking.

Seth furrowed his eyebrows. "Who'd she go with?"

Ellie raised her eyebrows and AJ let out another sigh.

"Roman," Seth said, clenching his fists. "She went with Roman, didn't she?"

"Spot on," Ellie said, laughing. "And I'll gladly make a bet on what they're doing this very moment."

AJ narrowed her eyes. "Shut the hell up, you skank. Just get out of my way before you're hair is all over that dance floor."

Ellie scowled but stepped aside, letting them walk past her. She turned around, watching them walk out the door. This was something she_ definitely_ didn't want to miss.

"I'm telling you, that's who she's with," she said, jogging up to them as they left the club. "You don't believe me?"

"Why would we?" AJ asked as she called a taxi. She knew Paige was with Roman, but she also knew they weren't doing anything.. No, AJ knew Paige didn't like Roman in that way. She also knew Paige wouldn't do that to Seth.

The taxi came and AJ pushed Nikki in before Ellie could get a word in. She watched them drive away, knowing this would be the last straw for Seth. He would come crawling back to her, she just knew it.

* * *

><p>"That was.. amazing," Roman said, scratching Paige's bare back as she laid on his chest. "I just.. Wow. Goddamn, Paige, you're not making this any easier."<p>

Paige softly chuckled. "I'm sorry. But I will say, I feel a hell of a lot better than what I did an hour ago."

"That's because you were drunk out of your mind."

"I still am," she said, laughing with him. "Do you regret doing this?"

"Yes and no," he answered, watching her frown. "I just regret betraying my best friend like that, okay? It's got nothing go to do with you."

Her eyelids closed as they felt too heavy for her to keep open. Roman noticed this and began rubbing her neck, until he too drifted off into a mindless sleep, totally unaware of the friends he texted to come get her.

"You sure this is his room?" AJ asked Seth in a low voice. He gave her a nod and handed her a key. "I didn't know you had a key."

"Dean took it, actually," he said, shrugging. "Which I took from him."

AJ paused at the mention of Dean but then unlocked the door, slowly walking in. Nikki and Seth followed behind, while Ellie was only a floor below them, creeping her way up.

"Oh my god!" AJ blurted, seeing the outlines of Paige and Roman.

"Fuck," Roman cursed, handing Paige a sheet to cover her chest with. "What the hell?"

The lights turned on and Seth charged back in, furious as hell.

"What the fuck is this?" Seth asked. "Is this what I think it is?"

Nikki's widened eyes didn't leave Roman, she somehow managed to sober up in the last half hour.

"What are you doing here?" Paige asked, trying to hide behind Roman's large build. "We're.. This isn't what it looks like!"

"Oh, save the crap, Paige!" Seth said, throwing his hands up in the air. "I can't believe this!"

"What the hell are you doing in my hotel room?" Roman asked Seth.

"What the hell are you doing with my Paige?"

"She isn't yours!"

"Well this doesn't make her yours!"

"Enough!" Paige shouted. "I'm sick of this fighting! Seth, will you give me a minute to.. get dressed, then can we talk?"

Seth paused, staring her right in the eye before leaving the hotel room. He stopped outside the room, taking a glance back before walking down the stairs to get outside. He could use a few minutes to piece this all together.

Paige rested her head in her hands, just know realizing what a mess she started. And now she has to face the consequences.

"I can't believe this," Paige murmured. "Will the misery ever end?"

AJ and Nikki shared a look before leaving the room to give Paige her privacy.

"This is.." AJ trailed off, scratching at her head while Nikki shut the door. "This is crazy."

"What do you think this means?" she asked. "Is she done with Seth now?"

"I think Paige was just hurting and needed something to get her mind off things," AJ said. "But now the hurts gonna be shifted onto Seth."

Nikki closed her eyes. "Come on, lets go back to our hotel room. I need to lay down."

AJ cracked a smile. "Headache already?"

"Shut up," Nikki muttered as they walked to the elevator.

Paige walked out of the bathroom, fully dressed. She collected her phone and jacket, stopping at the foot of the bed.

"I'm sorry, for all of this," she whispered. "I didn't mean to cause you all this trouble. Seth probably hates you now."

"It's not your fault," Roman said. "I shouldn't have taken advantage of you like that."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "You didn't. I wanted to.. I just wasn't thinking about all the pain it would bring."

Roman forced a smile. "Why don't you go talk to Seth now, huh?"

Paige returned the smile, just as forced and fake. "Okay."

She walked to the door, her hand reaching out to open it. It lingered above the knob until she turned around.

"Roman?"

"Hm?"

"Take care of yourself," Paige said, giving him one last smile before leaving the hotel room. She stopped outside of it, leaning her back on the door. This was a mess she wasn't sure she could fix.

Knowing where Seth would be, she jogged down the stairs until she reached the lobby. She took a peak out the window, seeing him standing by the pool. She took a deep breath and pushed the doors open, joining him outside.

"Seth," Paige called out. He was a few feet ahead of her, and his back was to her. She tilted her head to the side. "Seth!"

He slowly turned around. "What?"

Paige stepped forward. "Can we talk now?"

"Aren't we already doing that?"

She chuckled. "Fine. I.. I wanted to say I'm sorry, okay?"

"You're sorry that you slept with my best friend? Or that you got caught?"

"Both," she whispered.

He gave her a cold look. "I thought so."

"It was a mistake, Seth. I was drunk, and-"

"You were_ drunk_?" he repeated. "So he took advantage of you?"

"N-no," Paige replied, pulling the jacket tighter around her. "I came onto him. I just wasn't thinking, Seth. I didn't realize how much it would hurt you."

"You haven't been doing much of that lately, have you? Haven't been thinking of you at all," Seth said, shaking his head. "I thought we were slowly picking up the pieces of our broken relationship, but there you go shattering it again!"

"I'm not the only to blame here!" Paige said. "You started this by _cheating_ on me!"

"You basically did the same!"

"We aren't together! We weren't together when I slept with him, how is that cheating?" Paige asked. "I don't even know why I'm apologizing, I didn't cheat! Everything I do doesn't have to be based around your feelings! So tell me, how did I cheat on you?"

"Because you knew how much I was trying," Seth said, clenching his fists. "You knew how guilty I felt, how much I regretted cheating on you."

"Lets not forget the part where you deliberately stayed with her-"

"To fucking protect you!" Seth shouted. "I love you, Paige! Don't you realize that? I tried everything, I didn't stop. You knew how hard I was trying, and yet you go behind my back and sleep with my best friend! My_ best friend_, Paige!"

"Maybe I was sick of hurting, Seth," Paige said, her voice cracking. "Maybe I just didn't want to feel the pain for just five minutes!"

"At least Ellie wasn't your best friend," Seth spat.

"Only my enemy, which makes it a hell of a lot worse!"

"How would you like it if I slept with Nikki, huh? Or AJ?" he asked. "How would you feel then? How would you feel if I banged your best friend?"

"I'd rather it be them then Ellie!" Paige shouted.

"That's bullshit, Paige," Seth said, beginning to pace. "God, I thought we were finally getting somewhere again. I thought you were beginning to forgive me!"

"I will never forgive you for what you did!" Paige coldly said. "You broke my heart, my fucking heart! You shattered it to a million pieces, Seth! You cheated on me, after promising you'd remain faithful. You then stayed with her! How messed up is that? I don't care if it was too protect me or not, you still stayed with her and rubbed it in my fucking face! Every week at work I had to deal with seeing you two together, do you know how painful that is? Maybe I just wanted to break your heart like you broke mine, maybe I_ wanted_ you to feel exactly how I felt! Maybe I wanted to get my revenge on you!"

Seth froze, looking up at her. "You did this just to get back at me?"

Paige let her arms fall to her side. "Shit.. Seth, I didn't mean that."

"Yes, you did," he said. "Well, congratulations, Paige. It worked. I feel just as shitty and pathetic as you felt. Hope you're happy with Roman."

He walked past her and back into the hotel. Paige looked down at the ground, letting the tears finally come. She slowly sat down and hugged her knees, sobbing into them. What little hope they had left to get back together was now gone, destroyed. All because of her.


End file.
